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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 10:23:50 AM
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More than just football - a victory for the Jamaican Diaspora
JAMAICA VS ENGLAND
Diane Abbott
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Last week's friendly football match between Jamaica and England was a defeat for the Reggae Boyz, but a victory for the Jamaican Diaspora and its capacity to mobilise.
Diane Abbott
And I was there! Like thousands of other Jamaican supporters, I woke up before dawn on Saturday to be sure of hitting the road to Manchester in time for kick-off at 2.00 pm. It was a lovely sunny day, the best of the year so far. Visiting Jamaicans joked that they had brought the weather with them.
And that morning I saw cars, coaches and minibuses streaming up the motorway to Manchester packed to bursting with Jamaican fans in green black and gold from top to toe.
The match had been sold out for some weeks. In fact, the main complaint of Jamaicans, in the run-up to the match, was the difficulty in getting tickets. England took the match extremely seriously.
It was significant for many reasons. It was the first time Jamaica had ever played England and it was the England manager's (Sven-Goran Eriksson) last match on English soil as England coach. Although Jamaica itself has not qualified for the World Cup, England's second match in Germany will be against Trinidad and Tobago.
So England saw it as a vital opportunity to play a team that they believed would have a very similar style.
The Reggae Boyz were preparing England for the Soca Warriors. England fielded all their stars: David Beckham, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand and the rest. This was a testimony to the respect England had for the Jamaican team. And it was a respect that shaded into fear.
The Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was quoted in the British press as saying, "We are from the Caribbean, and we play a particular brand of football. It is aggressive in some sense but we will tone it down against England. We will play good football and although England will know they have been in a game, nobody will get hurt hopefully. It's a test we are looking forward to and we will play our natural brand of football."
When the Jamaican team came out onto the pitch of Manchester United Football Club's glittering, Old Trafford stadium in bright sunshine in front of a 70,373 strong crowd, the Jamaican supporters erupted with joy.
But the final days before the match were not in the Reggae Boyz' favour. There was the 1-4 loss to Ghana and the saga of Marlon King's expulsion from camp. But when the Jamaican team came out onto the pitch of Manchester United Football Club's glittering Old Trafford stadium in bright sunshine in front of a 70,373 strong crowd, the Jamaican supporters erupted with joy. Jamaica sometimes gets quite negative publicity here in Britain but that afternoon people were revelling in the opportunity to demonstrate pride in their country at a happy positive event.
Most Jamaicans were in blocs of seats at one end of the ground. They stood out in their green, yellow, and black. But all over the ground, defiant individual Jamaican supporters waved large Jamaican flags, surrounded by a sea of English football fans in their red and white.
Sadly, the Reggae Boyz were defeated six nil. Some supporters were disappointed. But they forget that the English premiership is one of the best leagues in the world.
It attracts top players from four continents and is awash with millions of pounds from the sale of television rights to broadcast games. David Beckham's salary would pay the salary of all the Reggae Boyz put together and still have plenty left over.
But everyone felt the Jamaican footballers acquitted themselves bravely. And the Jamaican football supporters sang, and waved their flags throughout, despite being outnumbered. Their support was so fervent and impressive that the English football fans gave the Jamaican fans a round of applause at the end of the match. It was a great day out and it reminded me of travelling to Paris in 1998 (when Jamaica did qualify) to see Jamaica play Argentina.
There was the same joyous atmosphere. In fact Jamaican fans were the most popular fans in Paris that week-end. Everyone wanted their photograph taken with us. Jamaica should be proud of its travelling fans.
They combine a burning passion for their team with good humour and good sportsmanship.
This week Jamaicans from the UK, the United States, Canada, Central America, Africa, and the Caribbean will be gathering in Kingston for the second Biennial Jamaica Diaspora conference.
Jamaican politicians are to be congratulated for taking the lead in the Caribbean in recognising the strategic significance of their people overseas.
And if the conference is able to capture a fraction of the energy, enthusiasm, and love of Jamaica that was on show at Old Trafford football stadium last Saturday, then Jamaica will be blessed.
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Karl |
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More than just football-JAMAICA VS ENGLAND
