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JFF Targets Gov't Funding
Published: Monday | July 12, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Captain Horace Burrell - File
Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer
Captain Horace Burrell, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), said he will be making an urgent plea to Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Minister of Sports Olivia 'Babsy' Grange for funds to assist the national team in the preparations for the 2014 World Cup qualifying series.
Burrell made the comments at the World Cup finals that ended yesterday in South Africa, where he worked as member of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) disciplinary committee. That body is responsible for examining the daily match report of the referees.
Captain Burrell told The Gleaner in an interview while on a bus to Port Elizabeth for the third-place match that Germany won, beating Uruyuay 3-2 on Saturday, that the JFF will need major financial assistance from the Government.
Government support
"Without substantial support from the Government, as we received in the past, it is not going to be possible for us to qualify because it is going to take a lot of funds for a team to compete at the World Cup and, therefore, the support has to be on a national basis," said Burrell.
"Without support from the Government and the rest of the country, we would be wasting time," he said.
"Preparation is the key to qualifying for any World Cup finals and there is no doubt in my mind that with the abundance of talent that we have in Jamaica, if we properly prepare ourselves, we will have a great chance of qualifying for the next World Cup finals," said Burrell. Without properly preparing ourselves it will not happen at no time.
"We also have to realise the tremendous value which accrue from qualifying for the World Cup finals, and any country that participates in a football World Cup finals will benefit a lot in many ways, whether it is tourism or exposure for the young players," he explained.
The Reggae Boyz are set to play Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago in two friendly matches - home and away - in August and October; and, according to Burrell, this presents a perfect opportunity for the JFF to assess the team before the qualifier begins next year.
Sensible thing to do
"To start by playing Trinidad and Tobago is certainly the sensible thing to do, and we must also realise that is it going to be a very hard and long road because the Trinidadians have always been stiff opposition for us; and, at this time, I can say that we are not much better than them," said Burrell.
He added: "We are not at the level that we think we are at and, therefore, we have to build on our national team. There are people who think that we are better than we are, and we are not; and therefore we are in a gradual process of rebuilding and preparing ourselves for the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil."
Burrell noted that there is adequate time to prepare for the qualifiers, but the federation is going to need the financial support from the nation in order to become the top CONCACAF team in the region.
"What we need are the resources to assist the technical staff and the players in properly preparing ourselves, so that we could have a good chance of qualifying for the next World Cup," he said.
"One must remember, in order to qualify, we must perform well against, teams like United States, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Canada, Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago; and the only way we are going to be able to do this is with an organised and well prepared group of players," Burrell stated.
"We have the players and there is no doubt about that, but what we do not have are the resources to properly prepare the team," he reasoned
Published: Monday | July 12, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Captain Horace Burrell - File
Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer
Captain Horace Burrell, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), said he will be making an urgent plea to Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Minister of Sports Olivia 'Babsy' Grange for funds to assist the national team in the preparations for the 2014 World Cup qualifying series.
Burrell made the comments at the World Cup finals that ended yesterday in South Africa, where he worked as member of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) disciplinary committee. That body is responsible for examining the daily match report of the referees.
Captain Burrell told The Gleaner in an interview while on a bus to Port Elizabeth for the third-place match that Germany won, beating Uruyuay 3-2 on Saturday, that the JFF will need major financial assistance from the Government.
Government support
"Without substantial support from the Government, as we received in the past, it is not going to be possible for us to qualify because it is going to take a lot of funds for a team to compete at the World Cup and, therefore, the support has to be on a national basis," said Burrell.
"Without support from the Government and the rest of the country, we would be wasting time," he said.
"Preparation is the key to qualifying for any World Cup finals and there is no doubt in my mind that with the abundance of talent that we have in Jamaica, if we properly prepare ourselves, we will have a great chance of qualifying for the next World Cup finals," said Burrell. Without properly preparing ourselves it will not happen at no time.
"We also have to realise the tremendous value which accrue from qualifying for the World Cup finals, and any country that participates in a football World Cup finals will benefit a lot in many ways, whether it is tourism or exposure for the young players," he explained.
The Reggae Boyz are set to play Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago in two friendly matches - home and away - in August and October; and, according to Burrell, this presents a perfect opportunity for the JFF to assess the team before the qualifier begins next year.
Sensible thing to do
"To start by playing Trinidad and Tobago is certainly the sensible thing to do, and we must also realise that is it going to be a very hard and long road because the Trinidadians have always been stiff opposition for us; and, at this time, I can say that we are not much better than them," said Burrell.
He added: "We are not at the level that we think we are at and, therefore, we have to build on our national team. There are people who think that we are better than we are, and we are not; and therefore we are in a gradual process of rebuilding and preparing ourselves for the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil."
Burrell noted that there is adequate time to prepare for the qualifiers, but the federation is going to need the financial support from the nation in order to become the top CONCACAF team in the region.
"What we need are the resources to assist the technical staff and the players in properly preparing ourselves, so that we could have a good chance of qualifying for the next World Cup," he said.
"One must remember, in order to qualify, we must perform well against, teams like United States, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Canada, Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago; and the only way we are going to be able to do this is with an organised and well prepared group of players," Burrell stated.
"We have the players and there is no doubt about that, but what we do not have are the resources to properly prepare the team," he reasoned