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The good thing about the Caribbean Champions Cup...
ON THE SPORTING EDGE
Paul Reid
Thursday, April 01, 2010
The recently-announced withdrawal of Jamaican Premier League qualifiers from the Caribbean Champions Cup competition has raised some eyebrows and questions.
The decision, which was communicated by letter to CONCACAF president Austin 'Jack' Warner, was based on the cost of the teams taking part.
This, according to the Jamaican clubs ranged from just under J$2M for taking part in the first round alone and could go as high as just under J$6M should the team advance deep into the competition.
Additionally, since there are no 'upfront' financial benefits from taking part --the winners are not given cash prizes-- the decision to withdraw was viewed as financially sound, given the state of the world economy and Jamaica's shaky financial standings.
No one can fault any Premier League club from not wanting to shell out an additional $6M in addition to the estimated $15M or so it takes to run a successful club each season, but the decision could be seen as myopic.
One could say that the benefits of taking part in this league vastly outweigh sitting it out and those who want to take part should be allowed to.
Of course I am just speculating here that any of the teams would want to take part as I have no inside information that the decision taken was not a unanimous one.
What I do know, however, is that former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, president of the Tivoli Gardens football club, has always seen participation in the Caribbean competition as a waste of money.
That stance has never stopped the likes of Portmore United and Harbour View from taking part and enjoying the positive spin-offs.
We can recall Harbour View tying up a lucrative long term equipment deal with Adidas not so long ago and it makes you wonder if the giant sporting goods company would have been interested in Harbour View if they were not taking part in competitions outside the limited confines of Jamaican domestic football.
We are still awaiting news of Harbour View's captain Lovell Palmer signing with American Major League outfit Houston Dynamos and hopefully a few more players will follow him soon.
Playing in these competitions no doubt would open up more avenues for our players to be shown off to other clubs al over the region not just in the US market but in Mexico, Costa Rica or other countries that have professional leagues.
Participation in these leagues not only exposes our club football, but in the long run will help to raise the standard, which to be honest, we can't be completely proud of right now.
The spin-offs from these moves could be worth a lot more than the $6M invested in one year and we hope that in the very near future, even next season, we will see Jamaican teams lining up against their CONCACAF opponents.
ON THE SPORTING EDGE
Paul Reid
Thursday, April 01, 2010
The recently-announced withdrawal of Jamaican Premier League qualifiers from the Caribbean Champions Cup competition has raised some eyebrows and questions.
The decision, which was communicated by letter to CONCACAF president Austin 'Jack' Warner, was based on the cost of the teams taking part.
This, according to the Jamaican clubs ranged from just under J$2M for taking part in the first round alone and could go as high as just under J$6M should the team advance deep into the competition.
Additionally, since there are no 'upfront' financial benefits from taking part --the winners are not given cash prizes-- the decision to withdraw was viewed as financially sound, given the state of the world economy and Jamaica's shaky financial standings.
No one can fault any Premier League club from not wanting to shell out an additional $6M in addition to the estimated $15M or so it takes to run a successful club each season, but the decision could be seen as myopic.
One could say that the benefits of taking part in this league vastly outweigh sitting it out and those who want to take part should be allowed to.
Of course I am just speculating here that any of the teams would want to take part as I have no inside information that the decision taken was not a unanimous one.
What I do know, however, is that former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, president of the Tivoli Gardens football club, has always seen participation in the Caribbean competition as a waste of money.
That stance has never stopped the likes of Portmore United and Harbour View from taking part and enjoying the positive spin-offs.
We can recall Harbour View tying up a lucrative long term equipment deal with Adidas not so long ago and it makes you wonder if the giant sporting goods company would have been interested in Harbour View if they were not taking part in competitions outside the limited confines of Jamaican domestic football.
We are still awaiting news of Harbour View's captain Lovell Palmer signing with American Major League outfit Houston Dynamos and hopefully a few more players will follow him soon.
Playing in these competitions no doubt would open up more avenues for our players to be shown off to other clubs al over the region not just in the US market but in Mexico, Costa Rica or other countries that have professional leagues.
Participation in these leagues not only exposes our club football, but in the long run will help to raise the standard, which to be honest, we can't be completely proud of right now.
The spin-offs from these moves could be worth a lot more than the $6M invested in one year and we hope that in the very near future, even next season, we will see Jamaican teams lining up against their CONCACAF opponents.
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