‘I AM CONFIDENT’

GENERAL SECRETARY of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Dennis Chung, who demits office on Saturday, says he is leaving an organisation with a safe financial future.

The JFF announced Chung’s resignation yesterday on its Instagram profile, saying while there had already been rumours he was leaving, an official revelation could not be made until certain discussions were had.

Chung joined the JFF in November of 2022 with the big task of helping the organisation navigate its very public financial difficulties and to streamline its operations, which had also come in for much public scrutiny following some major gaffes involving the logistics of national teams.

The JFF, in its release on the matter, said Chung had achieved his objectives, inclusive of a number that had not been reached in more than 20 years.

The release pointed to the removal of FIFA’s restricted funding tag for the JFF and the securing of a Tax Compliance Certificate in 2023 as being among Chung’s achievements.

Chung was also said to be the man behind the JFF’s clean audit opinion last year, and achieving a positive equity position in March.

According to Chung, despite the challenges, working on the JFF’s projects was a pleasing experience.

“It was indeed a pleasure to work with President [Michael] Ricketts, and I am pleased that we were able to achieve the objectives we set out on,” said Chung.

The outgoing general secretary also praised Ricketts for his role in achieving some of the successes the organisation has had.

“A lot of credit goes to the president, who had the vision of what he wanted to achieve, as that is where it starts, and the staff at the JFF, who stuck to the task and got the job done. It wasn’t an easy road, but we were able to safeguard the financial future of the JFF and Jamaica’s football.”

Ricketts mimicked Chung’s sentiments, saying: “I am happy that Dennis has achieved the goals of financial improvement in the JFF. The objective has been to get our financial house in order and then start to focus on the development of football in Jamaica, as it was always going to be difficult to have effective developmental programmes with the financial challenges we faced in 2022.”

Chung was also quick to point out that the financial progress of the organisation would not end with his departure.

“I am confident that we have the staff and processes in place to continue on this trajectory,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ricketts is of the belief the relationship between Chung and the JFF will not end with his resignation.

“I am sure that we will always be able to call on Dennis if we need his advice, and I certainly wish him all the best in the future.”

According to the release, arrangements are already in place to handle the transition from Chung.

Those arrangements, the release said, would be made public in short order.