Six months in, Chung still optimistic
Published:Sunday | May 14, 2023 | 1:29 AM
SIX MONTHS into his tenure as Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) general secretary, Dennis Chung says he is not just optimistic about meeting the financial targets with big competitions on the horizon but also establishing the proper framework which will provide better governance for the organisation.
Chung, appointed to the job in November, has taken on the task of not only trying to meet the over $100m budget for the national senior women’s team’s World Cup campaign which starts in two months, but also looking to have better financial governance. The latter prompted FIFA to assign a financial consultant in March.
Chung said the hiring of a consultant came from a discussion between the two bodies going back to last October, saying there was an obvious need to address a shortfall in experience and to fine-tune the JFF’s procedures.
“He has been in there helping us with our policies and procedures, ensuring that we have good governance which is key. I think good governance is essential because if you don’t have good governance a lot of things will fall down,” Chung told The Sunday Gleaner.
“We are getting some significant help from him and I am looking forward to the next few months to see where the results will come out.
“The endgame is that we have much better governance policies and that from a financial point of view, we are much better off,” Chung said.
RESTRICTED FUNDING
The assistance comes four years after FIFA put the JFF under restricted funding. In a critical year, highlighted by the Reggae Girlz competing in their second consecutive Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer, the JFF’s sponsorship has been boosted with an Adidas kit deal, as well as with other partnerships.
While not divulging how close the JFF is to meeting its target, Chung said the organisation was in a good place.
“We know football is huge, but we are working with some plans. I don’t want to give away too much but we are not in a bad position. I have to be confident because it is something that we are doing,” Chung said.
Among those plans is the finalisation of the Reggae Girlz send-off series, with the opponents in those affairs to be announced this week. The final international window before the World Cup will be in June.