10 months ago
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Jason McKay, president of McKay Security Raiders FC, has announced his intention to challenge Elaine Walker-Brown for the presidency in the upcoming St Catherine Football Association (SCFA) election.
McKay said his presidential bid has been an open secret in the parish, as he had been planning to challenge for the position long before his official announcement.
According to McKay, he had intended to wait until after the current SCFA Major League season to announce his candidacy; however, the timing of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) election had forced his hand to move up his campaign timeline.
“I was planning to do it for quite a while now, but I didn’t want to announce it while we were still participating in the season because I am the president of a club,” he said. “I wanted to wait until the end of the Major League season to announce it. But as you know, we have to hold our elections three months after the JFF elections and we’re already over a month into that and I need a period of time to actually campaign.”
McKay explained that he is no stranger to football in St Catherine, having worked alongside former SCFA President Lincoln ‘Happy’ Sutherland.
He also spent several years working with the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) as a sponsor with the parish’s youth competitions before making his return to St Catherine with McKay Raiders in 2019.
Dissatisfied with administration
He said upon his return to the parish, he found himself dissatisfied with the management of the Walker-Brown administration and believed now would be the perfect time to challenge for office.
“I started football in St Catherine in 1996. I was brought in by ‘Happy’ Sutherland. After the 1990s, I went over to KSAFA and assisted them. I was their partnering sponsor for the under-17 and the under-20 for a period of years. I took over presidency for the New Raiders club in 2019 and I have been actively involved in that.
“So I have been around St Catherine and I’ve seen how well the parish has been run under ‘Happy’ Sutherland and Peter Reid. The type of leadership we have now is not the one we need in the parish.”
McKay is confident of his chances leading up to the parish elections. He is buoyed by the responses he has received from stakeholders in St Catherine throughout several meetings leading up to his announcement.
“It has been extremely positive. I’ve had several meetings with interest groups, which I’ve been doing even before leading up this, because I have been planning this for quite a while and everybody has shown their support,” McKay said.
In response, SCFA President Walker-Brown said she had been made aware of McKay’s election challenge but feels he is driven by the SCFA’s decision to expel McKay Raiders from the parish’s current Major League season.
McKay Raiders were expelled from the competition after being found to be in breach of the competition’s regulations due to the failure to register the club and its players on FIFA Connect.
Walker-Brown said despite attempts by her administration to get in contact with McKay to resolve the issue, no resolution was found in time to meet the competition’s deadline.
“Persons are saying to me that this feels like it’s very personal after what happened, but I said I did not know the man. When we decided to apply the rules he had a problem. But we live in a democratic country, so if he feels he can challenge me and win, then let’s go for it,” Walker-Brown said.
English (US) ·