MONTEGO BAY, St James — Orville Powell, president of Red Stripe Premier League club Montego Bay United, has thrown his hat into the ring to be the 13th president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) at the annual general meeting set for later this year.

The outspoken Powell, a former president of the St James Football Association and chairman of the JFF Western Confederation between 2006 and 2009, when he was also a director of the JFF, launched his ambitious bid to replace Captain Horace Burrell as head of the JFF yesterday at a press conference held at the ritzy Blue Beat club along the Montego Bay Hip Strip.

“Today is, to me, what I call decision time… I will be making myself available for the presidency of the JFF and the work for me begins now, and I will be engaging all the parishes to have meaningful discussions and the future is with us,” Powell said.

While he said he had preliminary discussions with “several FA presidents” and has got consensus that the time is ripe for a change in the leadership of the JFF, Powell, who appeared to be keeping his cards close to his chest, said he had not secured any nominations as yet.

According to the rules of the JFF, each candidate seeking office must be nominated by at least four parish associations, and the nominations close next Thursday, November 5.

“I am not just going for the nominations of four FAs, but to make a resounding statement to Jamaica, the (FA) presidents now, it is now in their hands to effect that change, and we have to do it.”

Powell, who has been in football administration for some 15 years since he took over the Seba United team, then moved to Village United before forming Montego Bay United, called for “change from the current path the JFF is taking”, and pointed out that Jamaica’s football administration had lost the respect of the region.

Since 2009 Powell said he has seen a “steady decline” in the administration of the game. “What I believe is needed now is change from the path that our current leader is taking. The facts are Jamaica has gone from being a powerhouse in this region; we were leaders at the CFU level (and) at the CONCACAF level,” he said.

Powell said there are serious questions in Jamaican football circles that have not been asked. “What are the implications to Jamaica re FIFA and the current reforms? Will Jamaica be part of the reform and how will the implications play out with what is happening at the CONCACAF level and CFU? Will Jamaica continue to get support out of these reforms? Will we have that serious lobby at the FIFA if we do not conform or reform?”

Powell also blasted what he said was a lack of development in the local game which has led the JFF to go overseas to scout for players for national teams merely participating in the FIFA competition and not being real contenders.

The tipping point for him, he said, came during the first- leg CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Nicaragua at the National Stadium when Jamaica trailed 0-3, but managed to score two goals and win the return leg and scrape through to the semi-final round.

The MoBay businessman claims he had discussions with Burrell regarding his proposed challenge, but he thought the next voting congress would have been in three years’ time, in 2018.

He said it was only recently that he realised the voting congress would be this year, so he fast-forwarded his decision.