Paul-Andre Walker, Staff ReporterTHE JAMAICA Football Federation (JFF) will not be spending any of the $5 million profit it earned from the recent tour of England on any local projects.
"We're still operating at a deficit. We still have to be paying creditors as far back as 2002," JFF treasurer Rudolph Speid said yesterday.
In the recent tour to the United Kingdom where Jamaica were thrashed 4-1 and 6-0 by Ghana and England respectively, the JFF earned approximately $22.3 million but had to shell out 17.3 of that amount in expenses to leave them with only $5m, which is incidentally, claimed by Speid to be the most in JFF history.
"This is the most money ever made in JFF history," he said being specific to friendly international tours.
Included in the $22.3 million made was the $5.5 million sponsorship from the National Commercial Bank, $1 million from Air Jamaica, and $500,000 from Digicel.
Television rights to TVJ, the sale of apparel and a $12.7 million appearance fee for the Reggae Boyz also put zeros in the JFF's income bracket.
From that initial figure of earnings, the JFF had to dish out $6.2 million to the players, which was separate from a $4.6 million food bill, $1.6 million allotted to per diem for the players and officials, another $1.6 for advertising along with fees for management.
While the trip was said to be a financial success, the JFF admits that it could have earned more as a dinner that was expected to gross $5 million had to be cancelled because of the unavailability of the guest speaker, Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who is also the Sports Minister.
HAPPY WITH EXTRA FUNDS
At the time, the Prime Minister was in the middle of a by-election and found it difficult to make the trip.
The JFF remains happy for the extra funds, but admits that spending it on the myriad of projects they have in store for Jamaica's development is not on their list because of their debt burden.
"We have worked out a payment schedule with our creditors and we have been on target with that and we don't want to spoil it," said Speid.
According to Speid, other tournaments that are not money earners also continue to slow the process of getting out of debt.
In saying so, Speid gave the example of the women's Gold Cup qualifiers from which he says the JFF suffered a $2 million loss, and pointed to upcoming events like the CAC Games where the institution stands to gain no money.
