JFF — Jamaica Football Federation

What is the JFF?

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the national association for football in Jamaica. It describes itself as “the governing body of football in Jamaica, responsible for overseeing the island’s national teams, domestic competitions, and the overall development of the sport”, and as “a non-profit organisation, funded by the Sports Development Foundation (SDF)”, alongside Concacaf, FIFA and corporate sponsors.^[4]

FIFA’s directory lists the Jamaica Football Federation in the Concacaf confederation, with www.jff.football as its website and Michael Ricketts as president.^[1] The JFF gives its mission as “To be a professional and socially impactful organisation through winning performance — both on and off the field.”^[4] Its site publishes the federation’s constitution and electoral code, both labelled “JFF_FIFA”, and its club licensing regulations, and carries its senior men’s and women’s teams under the names Reggae Boyz and Reggae Girlz.^[3]

What does the JFF govern or do?

The JFF states that it “governs the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League” and “manages all twelve (12) national teams, including the men’s and women’s senior squads”.^[4] The Jamaica Observer reported on 21 February 2024 that the JFF and the PFJL Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) had signed a memorandum of understanding to “the PFJL’s oversight of the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League for the next 10 years”; the newspaper describes the PFJL as “an independent body” that “assumed control of the league in the 2020/21 season following the disbandment of the Premier League Clubs Association.”^[5]

Its standing committees, as the JFF lists them, cover finance; audit and compliance; referees; technical and development; women’s football; sports medicine; security and fair play; and competitions.^[4] FIFA’s directory lists the chair of the referees committee, the head of the referees department and a referee coordinator, a technical director and a futsal coordinator.^[1] The federation publishes club licensing regulations on its site.^[3]

When was the JFF founded and where is it based?

The JFF states: “Originally founded in 1910 as the Jamaica Football Association, the organisation adopted its current name in 1965”.^[4] Founding (1910) and the renaming (1965) are thus the federation’s own dates.

Concacaf dates the JFF’s continental membership separately: its profile states that the federation joined Concacaf in 1963, shortly after Jamaica’s independence.^[2] The confederation itself “was established in 1961 from a vision of unity, officially formed through the merger of the North American Football Union (NAFU) and the Football Confederation of Central America and the Caribbean (CCCF)”.^[6] Three dates are therefore in play: founding in 1910 and renaming in 1965, both per the JFF, and Concacaf membership from 1963, per Concacaf.^[4][2]

The federation’s address is 20 St. Lucia Crescent, Kingston 5, as given on its own site and by FIFA and Concacaf.^[3][1][2]

How is the JFF recognised?

FIFA. FIFA’s member-association directory lists the Jamaica Football Federation in the Concacaf confederation, with its officers, address and website.^[1] The JFF names FIFA among its funders.^[4]

Concacaf. Concacaf’s list of its 41 member associations includes Jamaica, and its profile of the federation dates its membership to 1963.^[7][2] Concacaf’s members are the national associations of North and Central America and the Caribbean, from Canada to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.^[6]

National standing. The JFF describes itself as a non-profit organisation and names the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) as a funder.^[4] Its top league operates under an agreement between the federation and a separate company, the PFJL, renewed in February 2024 for ten years, according to the Jamaica Observer.^[5] The federation’s constitution is published on its site under the label “Constitution JFF_FIFA”.^[3]

What does the JFF organise?

The JFF fields Jamaica’s national teams — “all twelve (12) national teams”, in its words, including the senior men’s and women’s squads.^[4] Its site lists the Senior Reggae Boyz, the Senior Reggae Girlz and the Under-17 Boyz among them, and FIFA’s directory names the head coach of the women’s team.^[3][1] The teams enter Concacaf and FIFA competitions such as the Gold Cup and the FIFA World Cup qualifiers; the 2026 World Cup (11 June–19 July 2026) is past.^[2]

Domestically, the senior club competition is the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League, which the JFF states it governs and which its site carries under the heading “National Premier League”, with match fixtures.^[4][3] The Jamaica Observer reports that under a memorandum of understanding signed on 21 February 2024 the PFJL’s oversight of the league was extended for ten years.^[5] The federation’s standing committee on competitions and its committee on women’s football sit beside its technical development committee.^[4]

Who are its members?

The JFF states that it “operates through a national structure comprising Parish Associations and Minor Associations”.^[4]

Its board, as the JFF describes it, is made up of the president, three vice-presidents, the general secretary, the presidents of the 13 parish associations and two co-opted members.^[4] The parish associations are therefore represented on the board through their presidents. FIFA’s directory lists the federation’s officers: president Michael Ricketts, vice-presidents Barry Watson, Elaine Walker-Brown and Raymond Grant, general secretary Gregory Daley and treasurer Peter Reid.^[1]

The professional clubs are organised separately for the top league: the Jamaica Observer reports that the PFJL took control of the league in the 2020/21 season after the disbandment of the Premier League Clubs Association.^[5] At the continental level the JFF is itself the member: Concacaf’s 41 members are national associations.^[7]