Following a meeting with JFF president, Captain Horace Burrell and general secretary Horace Reid, Warner said that it was important that CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union, football’s regional governing bodies, intervene in the crisis.
Earlier this month, the JFF was forced to divert funds from its March wage bill in order to pay over JAM$850 000 (US$9 500) to a bailiff as part of the 12 000 pounds sterling settlement ordered by a Central London County Court almost two years ago for outstanding fees due to the England-based NVA Management Limited.
“It is imperative that CONCACAF and the CFU step in to assist the JFF. This is an unacceptable situation we find ourselves in,” Warner said following the meeting Thursday.
“Despite this fact we cannot allow our member to sink further into a sea of uncertainty. Football is a family. A common bond connects us. The growth of football in the region is interlinked and the survival and continued growth of the game in the Caribbean will be affected by how we handle this JFF situation.”
The JFF officials arrived here Wednesday night at Warner’s request to discuss the financial debt which is threatening to undermine the regional powerhouses.
Warner, who heads both CONCACAF and CFU, said the situation was a dire one and the meeting had served to look at options which could help alleviate the crisis.
“It is truly a sad day. I know the current administration inherited a substantial debt; despite their ongoing efforts they cannot bear this burden alone,” said Warner, also a FIFA vice-president.
“We have explored a number of options to yield both long and short term solutions. This predicament has cast a shadow of doubt on the ability of the JFF to continue its normal operations.
“This meeting is meant to lift the veil of uncertainty and chart a way forward. We must do all in our effort to change the fabric of this situation, if we hope to alter the rate of progress.”
Warner said he would continue working with the JFF in sourcing new sponsors and negotiating new sponsorship deals to create new revenue streams.
Captain Burrell described the meeting as, “truly encouraging and hopeful.”
“I would like to express our profound gratitude to the president for lending his assistance in this matter,” he said.
“We in the JFF have found ourselves in a precarious situation. Since resuming office in 2007 my administration has tried to erode this situation we have inherited. While we have achieved some measure of success, we understand that it cannot continue.”
“We will continue to meet with the president on this matter but it has been agreed that this situation will not be allowed to hamper the operations of the JFF.”
