JFF president praises Santos

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts was on hand to heap his praises on Santos FC during the club’s 60th anniversary awards ceremony and dinner on Saturday night at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel.

Ricketts said he could not pass up the chance to attend the ceremony, as he felt it was the perfect opportunity to honour a club with decades of history in Jamaican football.

Ricketts was one of the night’s speakers, and he took the time to recall his first interactions with the club. He commended the club’s organisation and their gloried history in the Jamaica Premier League, where they won five titles.

“When I got the invite, I thought it was very important that I be here for the simple reason that here is an opportunity to mix with some real legends,” he said.“My first initiation into club football was with Santos, and I thought even then, Santos would match up as one of the better organised clubs. It is no accident that they would have won so many national titles, and it was simply because of their management structure.”

Throughout the night’s event, Santos sought to highlight several of the club’s key players and administrators over the years with special awards.

This included the likes of Carlton ‘Spanna’ Dennis, Allan ‘Skill’ Cole, Kenneth ‘Bop’ Campbell, David Largie, Winston Carthy, Huntley Green, Howard ‘Juici’ Bell, Keith Bryce, Keith ‘Barnaby’ Tulloch, Fitzroy Wagstaff and Geoffrey Maxwell.

Ricketts felt the initiative of acknowledging club legends was “a brilliant move” for Santos, and gave his full support behind the idea of awarding former players who have made significant contributions to Jamaican football.

“I think it is a brilliant move and I support these initiatives, because when you look at these past players, they are hardly even recognised, so I give this 100 per cent of my support,” he said.

“Santos has certainly impacted and paved the way for a number of clubs. I remember the early days of Santos, they were very organised, and Jackie Bell was the coach. I am just very happy that I could be here to witness a number of players who have paved the way for the current crop of national players,” Ricketts said.