Menzies return spurred by Chung appointment

Hue Menzies' 2019 exit from the national senior women's programme that he helped build came, according to him, because of a lack of trust and clarity from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). His impending return in a different capacity is a result of the faith placed with JFF's new general secretary, Dennis Chung.

Menzies was in Jamaica for the recently concluded international series against Paraguay as they continued their preparations for next summer's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Menzies was head coach when the programme was revived years ago, leading to their first trip to the World Cup Finals in France in 2019. Menzies' exit that December was because of irreconcilable differences with the federation, which included a lack of clarity on his long-term future and unpaid funds from the campaign. Menzies said that he feels that he can trust Chung as the JFF seeks to move forward with its structural changes to improve the game for both men and women.

"The biggest thing for me was transparency and trust. That has always been the issue I've had with the JFF," Menzies told STAR Sports. "With Dennis in that role now, I fully trust him and then he is very transparent with everything that he does. That's probably the two biggest things right now and that's all that matters to me going forward."

Chung said that President Michael Ricketts is keen to bring Menzies back into the fold in an advisory capacity. Menzies says he is looking to meet with Ricketts in the near future to discuss in detail what role he will play.

"I have no idea yet. I haven't sat down with the president yet. They have to approve anything that they want to do," Menzies said. "I think Dennis is going to create a platform that will allow good people to come in and we can work together as a team. Obviously, we have the women's World Cup and we are trying to qualify the younger teams who are coming up. It's the bigger picture that we are looking at."

It is a strong foundation that Menzies wants to help build, not just for the Girlz but for the men's and youth programmes as well. He is focused on the long-term health of Jamaica's football.

"You are trying to build a structure so you are trying to look at the bigger picture. The Girlz programme is part of that picture.You want to help in situation where you can have the big picture, the youth development on the men's," Menzies said."It all combines into what we are trying to do here. I just want to provide some expertise."