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Adrian Frater's: "St James football declining fast"
St James football declining fast
Western Bureau
Should Seba United fail to beat Arnett Gardens in their crucial final round NPL fixture at Jarrett Park tomorrow afternoon, there is a strong possibility that the 2008-09 season could start without a St James team in the line-up, a first in the annals of the parish's football.
While football fans in the parish must be hoping and praying that Seba will win and avoid relegation, put in its proper perspective, this current situation is a clear indication that St. James' football, which consistently had three teams in the NPL for most of the 1980s and 90s, is now at rock bottom.
overhaul
Regardless of whether Seba escape relegation, I believe the time has come for a serious overhaul of St. James' football at the domestic level. While it might be true that a great deal of football is being played in the parish, it is equally true that what is being played is woefully lacking in quality.
What I think is needed is a radical change to the structure of the parish's football, which is probably the only way to arrest the decline and change course. As a first step, I believe the amalgamation of clubs from communities, which are fielding sometimes as many as three sub-standard teams, is an important first step that must be made.
The structure of the various competitions must also be changed to centralise the talent for maximum benefit. The Hart & Son Senior League and Sandals Division One should be contracted to feature no more than ten teams. The Division Two competition, which now features more time-wasters than serious players, should be scrapped and replaced with an Under-19 competition.
One might ask what will become of those players now competing at the division two level. For me, the simple answer is that they should either find a corner league team to play for, or join, the recreational players on Sunday morning at either the UDC beach or the old hospital park.
I think, with the serious difficulties the St James FA sometimes finds itself in when seeking sponsorship, it would be wrong to waste that money on players who are not going anywhere in the sport. Trying to facilitate players who are incapable of competing at the senior league and division one levels is a grand waste of time.
So as to encourage development and continuity, I believe all the teams participating at the senior league and division one levels should be mandated to have at least one team participating at either the Under-19, Under-17 or Under-15 levels. This would put the teams in a position to groom new players for the future.
I think the JFF could also support the process by restructuring the national competitions to better serve the development process at the parish level. I believe all parish competitions, confederation competitions and national competitions should use the same format, in order to properly prepare players to move in a uniform manner from one level to the next.
talent pool
The Coca-Cola Under-21 competition should be re-structured to coincide with the schoolboy season so that Manning and daCosta Cup players, who basically represent the talent pool of the future, can get involved in this competition at the very beginning. To me, a competition like this without our best young players is clearly not in our best interest.
As I have been saying religiously since the start of the decline in western Jamaica's football started just over a decade ago, nothing would please me more than to see the region return to the glory days. However, I remain cognisant of the fact that, without proper structures and programmes, the desired change will not come.
Western Bureau
Should Seba United fail to beat Arnett Gardens in their crucial final round NPL fixture at Jarrett Park tomorrow afternoon, there is a strong possibility that the 2008-09 season could start without a St James team in the line-up, a first in the annals of the parish's football.
While football fans in the parish must be hoping and praying that Seba will win and avoid relegation, put in its proper perspective, this current situation is a clear indication that St. James' football, which consistently had three teams in the NPL for most of the 1980s and 90s, is now at rock bottom.
overhaul
Regardless of whether Seba escape relegation, I believe the time has come for a serious overhaul of St. James' football at the domestic level. While it might be true that a great deal of football is being played in the parish, it is equally true that what is being played is woefully lacking in quality.
What I think is needed is a radical change to the structure of the parish's football, which is probably the only way to arrest the decline and change course. As a first step, I believe the amalgamation of clubs from communities, which are fielding sometimes as many as three sub-standard teams, is an important first step that must be made.
The structure of the various competitions must also be changed to centralise the talent for maximum benefit. The Hart & Son Senior League and Sandals Division One should be contracted to feature no more than ten teams. The Division Two competition, which now features more time-wasters than serious players, should be scrapped and replaced with an Under-19 competition.
One might ask what will become of those players now competing at the division two level. For me, the simple answer is that they should either find a corner league team to play for, or join, the recreational players on Sunday morning at either the UDC beach or the old hospital park.
I think, with the serious difficulties the St James FA sometimes finds itself in when seeking sponsorship, it would be wrong to waste that money on players who are not going anywhere in the sport. Trying to facilitate players who are incapable of competing at the senior league and division one levels is a grand waste of time.
So as to encourage development and continuity, I believe all the teams participating at the senior league and division one levels should be mandated to have at least one team participating at either the Under-19, Under-17 or Under-15 levels. This would put the teams in a position to groom new players for the future.
I think the JFF could also support the process by restructuring the national competitions to better serve the development process at the parish level. I believe all parish competitions, confederation competitions and national competitions should use the same format, in order to properly prepare players to move in a uniform manner from one level to the next.
talent pool
The Coca-Cola Under-21 competition should be re-structured to coincide with the schoolboy season so that Manning and daCosta Cup players, who basically represent the talent pool of the future, can get involved in this competition at the very beginning. To me, a competition like this without our best young players is clearly not in our best interest.
As I have been saying religiously since the start of the decline in western Jamaica's football started just over a decade ago, nothing would please me more than to see the region return to the glory days. However, I remain cognisant of the fact that, without proper structures and programmes, the desired change will not come.