Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
BOXHILL
THE JAMAICA Football Federation's (JFF) annual general meeting (AGM) at the Jamaica Crest Hotel in Fairy Hill, Portland should see the raising of eyebrows today as the organisation is, for all intents and purposes, broke.
The meeting is scheduled to have a segment that includes the submission of a balance sheet, along with a receipts and expenditure account from the limited liability company.
According to JFF financial statements and documents, which reached The Gleaner, in 2002, the JFF had a healthy asset count of $65 million, as it managed a net surplus of just more than $5 million.
However, the seeds of the current indebtedness had already begun to be sown as in 2001, it had made a surplus of almost $19 million, showing 2002 as a bad year in terms of profits.
That loss has accelerated and as at Decem-ber 31, 2003, according to audited figures, the JFF recorded a net loss of $32.7 million.
In that year, the JFF company made $197 million, but spent $230 million under the title 'operating expenses', yet only $12 million of that was accounted for as salaries and wages in the audited report by JPMG Peat Marwick.
Since that time, the JFF has changed administration, but found even more problems.
Things took a turn for the worse after the national teams failed to qualify for all major international competitions, including the 2006 World Cup in Germany, cutting off anticipated income from sponsors.
BANK OVERDRAFT
As at December 31, 2004, the JFF racked up a bank overdraft of $15.9 million and a long line of creditors and accruals, amounting to about $13.8 million. The company's trade creditors amount to $10.2 million, and there is still the matter of the $14.7 million payment due to former president Captain Horace Burrell.
To highlight the problems, current president Crenston Boxhill has also become a creditor of the institution, having loaned $637,083.34.
In total, the JFF's debt has risen to what must be an unprecedented $55.3 million.
The working capital deficit included in the above liabilities amounts to about $31.2 million, which is an increase from the $27.6 million that was present when Boxhill took over the reins of the JFF.
That situation has occured partly because the day-to-day functioning of the institution exceeds the funding that the company receives from the Sports Development Foundation (SDF), Federation of Inter-national Football Associations (FIFA) and its major long-term sponsors Wray and Nephew.
Those funds account for about a third of the JFF's expenses, including the servicing of debt.
Salaries and wages are the largest contributing factor to the JFF's expenses, with the exception of the cost of accomodation and transportation of the teams and officials to the various international games.
TO REVIEW RECOMMENDATION
At today's general meeting it is expected that the finance committee's recommendation to sell the offices of the JFF might be a topic of the 'other businesses' segment of the meeting.
The finance committee, chaired by managing director of Mayberry Investments, Chris Berry, had made the recommendation as a means to ease the debt problem, while creating new plans to increase the profitability of the organisation.
In speaking to Boxhill, it became apparent that the JFF's financial problems won't go away anytime soon.
"The initiatives aren't expected to generate increased revenues for the next 12-18 months," the JFF boss explained.
In lieu of having to cut costs, while attempting to rebound, the JFF has already made staff cuts with others scheduled to follow next month.
In the meantime, JFF secretary Carlton Barclay has explained that the funding received from the SDF and other major long-term sponsors will be enough to take care of the day-to-day running of the organisation, if the debt is dealt with by the sale of the building.
However, Barclay was tight-lipped about the plans surrounding the sale of the building saying: "I am putting something comprehensive together regarding the plan, and it will be made public when it is completed," he said.
The finance committee is comprised of chairman Berry; Ian Neita, vice-president of Cable and Wireless; Mark Hart, Hart Group of Companies; Earl Jarrett, president, Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS); Ann Shirley, business consultant, and Allan Lewis, financial consultant, JMMB.
Today's agenda includes: the president's report; general secretary's report; submission of balance sheet, receipts and expenditure account; vote and approval of the accounts; admission and/or resignation of minor affiliates; consideration and proposal for alteration of the articles of association by-laws or regulations; reappointment of auditors to examine and certify the accounts of the JFF; questions from member parish associations submitted in writing; and any other business.
