Howard Walker, Staff Reporter

Stephenson

Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) president, Ambas-sador A.B. Stewart Stephenson, has filed a motion to hold the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Congress four months earlier, to July this year.

The election of president is due at this congress. Stephenson says the move is designed to bring the election of a president in line with the World Cup programme.

Despite pushing for the change, Stephenson says he is not interested in running for the presidency at this time.

Not there as yet

"No sir," he told The Gleaner yesterday. "The top post is way in November, I don't reach there yet. I have heard of two candidates running and the two seem to have their own camps. The rest of us committed to football will have to do what we have to do in the meantime."

Sources close to the JFF admitted that Stephenson's move "is a subtle way of showing his hand but he won't make it."

Stephenson pointed out that he considers the JFF presidency a full-time job and is not ready as yet.

Said Stephenson: "I'm not ready for that. When we get up there, who knows what number will be playing at that time. You might have all three candidates. It is an attractive proposition to some people, I consider it a full-time job and hard work. It is something you would have to give serious thought to."

Capable

An attorney-at-law by profession, Stephenson is touted by many football pundits of being capable of taking the JFF to the next level.

"I have heard that myself but there are two men campaigning from now, so they must have resources to do that," noted Stephenson, who raised the motion that the JFF's voting congress be brought forward from November to an earlier date on Sunday at the JFF board meeting.

"I have raised it, it has been around for some time," said Stephenson. Burchell Gibson, the JFF general secretary, confirmed there was a proposal that the election be brought forward.

"But we can't decide on that, only the congress can. So it is a proposal that we would take to the congress," explained Burchell. The next non-voting congress is scheduled for February 11.

"If we are going to have the congress (voting), it would shorten three months from this current administration or one year from the next administration," Gibson noted.

According to Gibson, the issue was tabled as a motion and voted on.

"Nine persons out of 21 voted for, nobody voted against and the rest were abstentions. People are debating that this was a motion that was carried. But nine people can't carry it."

Over the last couple of years, the Crenston Boxhill-led administration has come under fire from his detractors and survived a no-confidence motion at the last Congress where more votes were counted against them, but were not enough for the required two-thirds majority.