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JFF not ruling out relocation of academy
By Howard Walker Observer writer walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, December 09, 2007
THE unfinished FIFA Goal Project located in Malvern, St Elizabeth, may again be relocated after a fact-finding team from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) visits the site soon.
Reid. If you have an academy without fields, you have to look at relocation
Horace Reid, the JFF general secretary, told the Sunday Observer that the team will not be going there with any preconceived ideas, but based on what has transpired so far, anything is possible.
Said Reid: "Based on the limited information that we have, we can't rule (relocation) that out of it. If you have an academy without any training fields, then we have to look at that. How is that possible? I'm told that there is a difficulty getting approval from the owners of Munro Trust for the fields."
Reid revealed that at a particular board meeting, the members - 70 per cent of whom was around from the previous administration - could not divulge any meaningful information on the status of the academy.
"The last board meeting... was unfortunate. A number of the board members were not au fait with the facts as it relates to the academy and the board had a difficulty in having a sensible discussion on the academy and it was felt that, 'let us take a couple steps back and go and visit and acquaint ourselves'," said Reid.
Carvel Stewart, the chairman of the technical committee responsible for the construction of the academy, will provide a report before the team makes its visit.
"... Based on that mission we can make a decision, not with our eyes closed, not relying on what other people present. No decision can be made, one way or another. We're not in any haste with any preconceived ideas to drive a decision," Reid added.
When Captain Horace Burrell took office in November 2007, he outlined an eight-pronged platform, which is at the heart of immediate plans to reshape the JFF and make Jamaica the foremost football nation in the English-speaking Caribbean, if not CONCACAF.
One of the things he spoke about was the development of the football academy to ensure the sound technical preparation of the nation's footballers.
On November 16, 2003, FIFA president Joseph S Blatter performed a symbolic ground-breaking act at the original site of the Goal project to be constructed by FIFA in Portmore, St Catherine.
The project, which was approved at the October 2003 Goal Bureau approval session in Doha (Qatar), is the first phase of the JFF's ambitious long-term plan to build its national football academy and training centre.
Two training fields and a dormitory for the JFF will be constructed on land donated by the Jamaican government through the Urban Development Corporation.
Ultimately, the Centre will also include an office
complex housing the JFF's technical directorate and conference rooms, as well as a mini-stadium for competitive matches.
But four years on the project is yet to be completed.
The Crenston Boxhill administration acquired land in St Elizabeth in 2006 and relocated the academy, citing better environment in the peaceful hills of Malvern.
The facility was expected to have an administrative suite, residential blocks, lecture areas and welfare facilities which were to be built in the first phase of the project expected to last about five months.
But several mishaps and misunderstandings made sure that up to this time it has not been completed.
Phase One of the J$25-million FIFA-financed project was halted in December 2006, after Harold Taylor, the FIFA development officer for CONCACAF with responsibility for the Goal Programme, visited Jamaica.
Taylor, in perusing the signed documents between Lovel Smith Construction Ltd and the JFF, sought to correct some specifics in reviewing the documents.
During that period, FIFA did not disburse any funds to the Mandeville-based construction firm, Lovel Smith Construction Ltd, for the originally projected six-month undertaking that started in September 2006.
As soon as Phase One is completed, the JFF will turn its attention to Phase Two of the project, which involves the establishment of at least four football fields and changing facilities.
Another problem that must be ironed out is acquiring the land to facilitate the fields. To date, the owners of the plot of land, the Dickenson Trust, and the JFF have failed to come to an agreement on the lease of the property.
Also, there is the irrigation problem with the availabilty of water to reach the academy site that is 2,500 feet above sea level, which is a constant problem in the area.
By Howard Walker Observer writer walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, December 09, 2007
THE unfinished FIFA Goal Project located in Malvern, St Elizabeth, may again be relocated after a fact-finding team from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) visits the site soon.
Reid. If you have an academy without fields, you have to look at relocation
Horace Reid, the JFF general secretary, told the Sunday Observer that the team will not be going there with any preconceived ideas, but based on what has transpired so far, anything is possible.
Said Reid: "Based on the limited information that we have, we can't rule (relocation) that out of it. If you have an academy without any training fields, then we have to look at that. How is that possible? I'm told that there is a difficulty getting approval from the owners of Munro Trust for the fields."
Reid revealed that at a particular board meeting, the members - 70 per cent of whom was around from the previous administration - could not divulge any meaningful information on the status of the academy.
"The last board meeting... was unfortunate. A number of the board members were not au fait with the facts as it relates to the academy and the board had a difficulty in having a sensible discussion on the academy and it was felt that, 'let us take a couple steps back and go and visit and acquaint ourselves'," said Reid.
Carvel Stewart, the chairman of the technical committee responsible for the construction of the academy, will provide a report before the team makes its visit.
"... Based on that mission we can make a decision, not with our eyes closed, not relying on what other people present. No decision can be made, one way or another. We're not in any haste with any preconceived ideas to drive a decision," Reid added.
When Captain Horace Burrell took office in November 2007, he outlined an eight-pronged platform, which is at the heart of immediate plans to reshape the JFF and make Jamaica the foremost football nation in the English-speaking Caribbean, if not CONCACAF.
One of the things he spoke about was the development of the football academy to ensure the sound technical preparation of the nation's footballers.
On November 16, 2003, FIFA president Joseph S Blatter performed a symbolic ground-breaking act at the original site of the Goal project to be constructed by FIFA in Portmore, St Catherine.
The project, which was approved at the October 2003 Goal Bureau approval session in Doha (Qatar), is the first phase of the JFF's ambitious long-term plan to build its national football academy and training centre.
Two training fields and a dormitory for the JFF will be constructed on land donated by the Jamaican government through the Urban Development Corporation.
Ultimately, the Centre will also include an office
complex housing the JFF's technical directorate and conference rooms, as well as a mini-stadium for competitive matches.
But four years on the project is yet to be completed.
The Crenston Boxhill administration acquired land in St Elizabeth in 2006 and relocated the academy, citing better environment in the peaceful hills of Malvern.
The facility was expected to have an administrative suite, residential blocks, lecture areas and welfare facilities which were to be built in the first phase of the project expected to last about five months.
But several mishaps and misunderstandings made sure that up to this time it has not been completed.
Phase One of the J$25-million FIFA-financed project was halted in December 2006, after Harold Taylor, the FIFA development officer for CONCACAF with responsibility for the Goal Programme, visited Jamaica.
Taylor, in perusing the signed documents between Lovel Smith Construction Ltd and the JFF, sought to correct some specifics in reviewing the documents.
During that period, FIFA did not disburse any funds to the Mandeville-based construction firm, Lovel Smith Construction Ltd, for the originally projected six-month undertaking that started in September 2006.
As soon as Phase One is completed, the JFF will turn its attention to Phase Two of the project, which involves the establishment of at least four football fields and changing facilities.
Another problem that must be ironed out is acquiring the land to facilitate the fields. To date, the owners of the plot of land, the Dickenson Trust, and the JFF have failed to come to an agreement on the lease of the property.
Also, there is the irrigation problem with the availabilty of water to reach the academy site that is 2,500 feet above sea level, which is a constant problem in the area.
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