The National Football Academy

[Reggae-Fan]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=Subheadline>Beginning to take shape</SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>By Garth Williams Press Officer JFF
Sunday, July 30, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Acquiring real estate will always be of great benefit to any nation's football programmes. The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) in its continued thrust to develop the game at all levels, but in particular the youth level, acquired 1.8 hectares of land in Munro, St Elizabeth for the construction of a national football academy.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Academy is a manifestation of the federation's commitment and dedication to creating a strong sense of professionalism in the sport.
The National Football Academy will provide an environment conducive to the processes of learning and physical preparation for the teams that will be housed or trained there. The academy will be constructed in two phases. Phase one sees the construction of the administrative suite, residential blocks, instructional/lecture areas and the welfare facilities.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The residential blocks have the initial capacity to accommodate 48 persons. The buildings are being designed to accommodate future expansions that will become necessary. The physical structure will provide an environment in which instructional activities and research can be pursued.
The facility will be able to host seminars, lecture series, large meetings such as annual congresses and camps.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=300 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>An aerial view of the site for the National Football Academy ajoining Munro College.</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>In addition, accommodation is being made for the construction of a full state-of-the-art gymnasium, as well as a fully equipped physiotherapy centre in which our teams can strengthen their physical development. The gymnasium and the physiotherapy centre do not form part of the current phase one, but will be added following completion of the first phase.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Facility<P class=StoryText align=justify>Construction of phase one should be completed by the end of February 2007 and the facility should be ready for full operation about one month after construction - after the facility has been fully equipped with furniture and amenities such as electricity, water and communication services, inclusive of phone lines and high speed internet connections.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Nestled in the cool and quiet community just outside of Malvern, the football academy provides an environment free from the hustle and bustle and social distractions that exist elsewhere in the island.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Squad members and administrators alike get a chance to "escape" the pressures that come with an urban existence. The climatic and atmospheric conditions are ideal for training and developing how players adapt to the various international conditions under which they will play. It facilitates solitude and free thinking. The benefits of being in such a natural setting go far beyond what can be discussed in this piece.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The national women's Under-20 team used the Munro College facilities in December 2005 while preparing for the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 in Mexico in January 2006. Coach Vin Blaine shared his satisfaction with the location, cellular phones were out of range in many areas which reduced the distractions to players and staff. The facility's proximity to beaches provides the opportunity for special training activities using sand.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Additionally, the therapeutic qualities of the water can be used to complement t

[Karl]

RE: The National Football Academy

<SPAN class=verblmed id=lblDate style="WIDTH: 100%">Friday, August 04, 2006</SPAN>
<TABLE width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%"><SPAN class=storyhead id=lblTitle style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 100%">The National Football Academy</SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%"><DIV class=verbl style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; FLOAT: left; WIDTH: 180px">
B-R: C. Shaw, C. Stewart, B. Gibson, F-R: M. Robinson, C. Boxhill &amp; Harold Taylor </DIV><DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 6px"></DIV><DIV class=verblmed>The following is the second of a two part article about the National Football Academy -

By: Garth Williams - Press Officer
Jamaica Football Federation

Beginning to Take Shape
The way forward

The National Football Academy will need an administrative and management team of the highest order in order to optimise the potential of the facility. A committee to investigate the assembly of such a team will meet to achieve this goal. The initial management team will include local, regional and international football officials/administrators both past and present.

The team will be responsible for the daily management of the facility as well as creating and adjusting an operational model for the facility. The team will also seek to ensure the sustainability of the facility as there is a need to create and maintain the academy’s ability to generate funds.

These may include but are not limited to:-
- Rental of facilities for seminars, conferences and other types of instructional exercises
- Housing teams local and international for tournaments
- Rental of playing facilities
- Funding from Corporate Sponsors
- The JFF is also confident that past and present administrators of the sport will give of their time and effort voluntarily for the love of the sport.

The Academy will be the hub of Jamaican football development. Local based players are at the core of the way forward and developing our home-grown talent reduces our need to “buy” players while displaying true patriotism and faith in our country.

Jamaica’s international football popularity through the Reggae Boyz can be capitalised upon and used to attract interest to our other National Programmes from Regional and International sports journalists and sports administrators.


L-R Carvel Stewart, Crenston Boxhill, Burchell Gibson &amp; Harold Taylor

In moving forward from this early stage of development, there are recommendations to borrow from the expertise and experience of the Netherlands. The Dutch created and have mastered a global model for youth football academies. The ideal and ultimate working situation for the academy would be to identify young football talent and invite the students in to board at the academy. Here they will be taught in accordance with the formal educational curriculum as stipulated by the Government as well as fully schooled in football. This allows the opportunity for our various teams to build a team chemistry and familiarity with each other on the field. Historically, teams with high retention rates tend to perform better than teams with low retention rates. This is due to the chemistry that can be developed between players

There are challenges in moving forward that must be overcome. Numbered among these challenges is a need for the nation to be completely behind football. Jamaica needs to develop a culture of football that will result in constructive criticism.

JAMAICA FOOTBALL FEDERATION LTD.
Founded 1962, Affiliated to FIFA and CONCACAF C.F.U. CABLE: Football Jamaica
20 St. Lucia Crescent, Kingston 5, Jamaica, West Indies
Telephone: (876) 929-0484/929-8036/926-1182
Fax: (876) 929-0483
Email: jamff@hotmail.com

</DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Karl]

RE: The National Football Academy

<SPAN class=verblmed id=lblDate style="WIDTH: 100%">Friday, July 28, 2006</SPAN>
<TABLE width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%"><SPAN class=storyhead id=lblTitle style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 100%">The National Football Academy</SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%"><DIV class=verbl style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; FLOAT: left; WIDTH: 180px">
</DIV><DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 6px"></DIV><DIV class=verblmed>The following is the first of a two part article about the National Football Academy -

By: Garth Williams - Press Officer
Jamaica Football Federation

Beginning to Take Shape

Rationale
Acquiring real estate will always be of great benefit to any Nation’s football programmes. The Jamaica Football Federation in its continued thrust to develop the game at all levels, but in particular the youth level, acquired 1.8 hectares of land in Munro St. Elizabeth for the construction of a national football academy. The Academy is a manifestation of the Federation’s commitment and dedication to creating a strong sense of professionalism in the sport.

The National Football Academy will provide an environment conducive to the processes of learning and physical preparation for the teams that will be housed or trained there. The Academy will be constructed in two phases. Phase one seeing the construction of the Administrative Suite, Residential Blocks, Instructional/Lecture Areas and the Welfare Facilities. The residential blocks have the initial capacity to accommodate forty eight (48) persons. The buildings are being designed to accommodate future expansions that will become necessary. The physical structure will provide an environment in which instructional activities and research can be pursued. The facility will be able to host seminars, lecture series, large meetings (such as annual congress) and camps. In addition, accommodation is being made for the construction of a full state-of-the-art gymnasium as well as a fully equipped physiotherapy centre in which our teams can strengthen their physical development. The gymnasium and the physiotherapy centre do not form part of the current Phase One but will be added following completion of the first phase.


The Facility

Construction of Phase One should be complete by the end of February 2007 and the facility should be ready for full operation about one (1) month after construction; after the facility has been fully equipped with furniture and amenities such as electricity, water and communication services inclusive of phone lines and high speed internet connections.


The Residences
Nestled in the cool and quiet community of Malvern, the football academy provides an environment free from the hustle and bustle and social distractions that exist elsewhere in the island. Squad members and administrators alike get a chance to “escape” the pressures that come with an urban existence. The climatic and atmospheric conditions are ideal for training and developing how players adapt to the various international conditions under which they will play. It facilitates solitude and free thinking. The benefits of being in such a natural setting go far beyond what can be discussed in this piece.

The National Women’s Under-20 team used the Munro College facilities in December 2005 while preparing for the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 in Mexico in January 2006. Coach Vin Blaine shared his satisfaction with the location, Cellular phones were out of range in many areas which reduced the distractions to players and staff. The facility’s proximity to beaches provides the opportunity for special training activities using sand. Additionally, the therapeutic qualities of the water can be used to complement the therapy element of the training programmes. Also of note is the A

[Tilla]

RE: The National Football Academy

<P class=StoryText align=justify>

<U>Construction of phase one should be completed by the end of February 2007 and the facility should be ready for full operation about one month after construction</U> - after the facility has been fully equipped with furniture and amenities such as electricity, water and communication services, inclusive of phone lines and high speed internet connections.

<P class=StoryText align=justify>Are we still to expect the academy to be ready by the end of March? Or maybe we should just tack on 6 more months to that and call it Jawge?