Ricketts wants FIFA role.
PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Michael Ricketts says that his organisation will be seeking to have a much greater role in FIFA, the world governing body for football.
The JFF does not have a representative on either the Concacaf or FIFA executive committees. Former president Captain Horace Burrell was the last JFF representative to sit on either a Concacaf or FIFA committee.
Ricketts told The Gleaner that FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, has a lot of admiration for his federation, and he is very optimistic that pretty soon, his organisation will have a member on one these executive committees.
“It is a process, and I have been in office a little over a year, but the truth is that FIFA has a lot of respect for Jamaica, and they have a lot of respect for how we operate as a federation,” said Ricketts.
FAIRLY INFLUENTIAL
“Certainly, we are looking forward to this because Captain Horace Burrell was a member of the executive committee for Concacaf and FIFA, and so Jamaica is fairly influential around the Caribbean. I am pretty certain that later on, somebody will sit on one of the executive committees,” he said.
Infantino is set to serve a second term as FIFA president after being the only candidate entered in June’s election. The 48-year-old succeeded Sepp Blatter as the head of world football’s governing body in February 2016.
Ricketts added that he is very happy with the work that Infantino has done so far and, therefore, he has the full support of his federation.
“I am very impressed with his leadership because he certainly has shown the highest level of transparency, equity, and balance,” said Ricketts.
“He came into office in a time when there was so much turmoil in world football, and I think that he has done a very good job. He has connected with its member associations, he has had discussions with us,” he said. “I certainly think he deserves a second term.”
The FIFA election will take place on June 5 in Paris before the Women’s World Cup, which starts two days later in France.