Final whistle!
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Annual General Meeting and voting congress on Saturday were headlined by the rise of Michael Ricketts to the country’s football pedestal after he dismissed the challenge of Ambassador Stewart Stephenson.
But riding off almost unnoticed into the sunset was JFF General Secretary Raymond Grant.
“I advised the congress that I am not available to go forward as general secretary. Prior to the conference I had already advised both candidates of my intention to step down today [September 16],” Grant told the Jamaica Observer on Saturday shortly after his final official act — declaring Ricketts 8-5 winner in the presidential vote-off.
“Therefore, I put them [on notice] to find a successor. I didn’t spring a surprise,” emphasised the man who has been general secretary since 2012.
Ricketts said on Saturday that the board will decide in “short order” who will replace Grant. The Observer understands that Manchester Football Association President Dalton Wint is the front-runner to assume the position.
An engineer in the government sector, Portland-based Grant was on secondment to the JFF as general secretary. Multiple times the late President Captain Horace Burrell had convinced him to backtrack on resigning.
“The reality is that I had returned to my substantive position as an engineer since August last year. It has been a challenge for me commuting between Portland and Kingston to manage both offices.
“On three occasions I tendered my resignation… in 2014 at the end of my first secondment, and also in 2015 when the extension had expired. The president then, Captain Burrell, even on the third occasion when I offered my resignation in June of last year, decided that I must stay on.
“At the time he indicated that he could not find a suitable candidate to take charge and I stuck it out. But the challenge for me is very great and tiresome and I had to take a decision,” Grant, explained.
Grant is former president of the Portland FA. He was also chairman of the Eastern Confederation — an umbrella group that included the football associations of St Ann, St Mary, Portland and St Thomas.
Looking back at his time as a JFF board member and as the principal administrator of the federation, Grant expressed some level of satisfaction, despite the inherent challenges in the midst of harsh economic times.
“The experience has been great. I joined the board of directors of the JFF as the youngest-serving member just entering my 20s. I’m happy to report that while demitting office 17 years later, I still remain the youngest member of the board. I believe I was able to positively affect many of the issues that the JFF encountered,” he said.
It is hardly surprising that even as he eases away quietly, there have been requests for him to help out, even in a temporary capacity.
“Even as I tendered my resignation, members asked me to reconsider my position. They have impressed upon me the need for me to stay on, if at least in the interim. It is a consideration before me,” he told the Observer.