‘Ricketts is the right man to build on Burrell’s legacy’
THE MAJORITY of Mike Ricketts’ support at yesterday’s Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) presidential elections came from western Jamaica parish associations, and the general consensus from the presidents of the Hanover, Westmoreland and St James Football Associations is that he is the right man to continue building on the legacy left behind by the late Captain Horace Burrell.
According to them, Ricketts knows the issues and challenges affecting the federation and is aware of what needs to be done.
Westmoreland FA president Everton Tomlinson noted that he is close to both candidates but believed Ricketts is the man to improve on what Burrell left behind.
RIGHT PERSON
“The former president (Burrell) and us had a good working relation as a family network, and we see it fit to continue on that trend. We feel Mike is the right person and we are going to give him 100 per cent support on all that we have been planning.
“We have no intention of changing, the plans (started under Burrell) they are good plans, they are workable and can have a big impact on the future of Jamaica’s football, so on that basis we had to give Mike the nod,” he insisted.
Gregory Daley, the St James FA president, had similar views.
“In the view of St James, Michael Ricketts was the right person. We knew what he was about and there are a lot of
things on the table that we need to put forward, and we didn’t want to change from that, as then we would have to be charting a completely new path.
“So even though Ambassador’s ideas are good ... we had to make a conscious decision as to who is the best person ... and in the near future, everyone will see why the
majority voted that way,” Daley said.
Ricketts’ campaign manager and Hanover FA president, Sheridan Samuels, said the transition process was very important
and that it was crucial to have someone from the inside who understood the difficulties and what needs to be done.
“Captain set the bar at a level ... and as directors, we were understudying his whole movement... So to get someone from outside to come in was going to be difficult because we know exactly what we want to do.
“We know the problems and we have persons who have contacts with CONCACAF and FIFA and we need all of that to move the federation and to continue moving it forward. We want to continue the whole process that is in place now, and Mike is the best person to do it. He is one of us, he knows what is happening, he’s somebody from within,” he noted.