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Dont know why this story was not posted instead of the one from the Daily Misleader which obviously was far inferior in terms of providing information...
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...ifiers_8347198
ailing grade! - Trelawny Stadium rejected as venue for U-17 Qualifiers
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer ?reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, February 10, 2011
FLORENCE HALL, Trelawny — Uncertainty surrounds Monday’s start of the Under-17 World Cup Qualifying series after the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium was yesterday rejected as a match venue by a team from regional body CONCACAF.
With four days to go before the start of the 12-team tournament, which will see four teams advancing to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico later this year, the organisers were last night scrambling to find a second venue to complement the Montego Bay Sports Complex.
The Trelawny facility was scheduled to host the opening matches of the series on Monday featuring Haiti vs Costa Rica at 12:30 pm and Cuba vs the USA at 3:00 pm.
The CONCACAF inspection team led by general secretary Ted Howard and Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) counterpart Horace Reid turned up at the venue to find a pitch with large spots bereft of grass.
Less than an hour before the arrival of the team, workmen were seen trying to fix spots on the field, with dried grass being rolled into the bare spots.
Jarrett Park, which hosted the qualifying tournament in 1999, was mooted as a possible replacement, but Howard said they would have to see that facility first.
Jarrett Park was one of the venues proposed by the JFF but was rejected and was instead being prepared as a practice facility.
Dalton Brown, the man responsible for the preparation of the field, was, however, adamant that all was not lost and if given time, the field would be ready.
While refusing to make any definitive statements, Brown told reporters that with time the situation would improve and said there were several contributing factors — including the recent staging of the Jazz Festival — why the field was not ready in time.
After a brief inspection, Howard told members of the media that the field was not ready to host a tournament of this magnitude and would only be used if there are no other available venues.
“We have serious concerns about the stadium,” the CONCACAF representative said.
“There is no grass on the field and this is not what we expected; we had assurances from back in September... and this clearly is a major concern to us to the point where we clearly will not be able to use this field.”
Howard said they would have to look at their options as “we need two stadiums somewhere and this would be an option if we had nothing else available”.
There was no Plan B, he said, as “I did not expect to see this. I expected to come see a field with lush grass and everything else would be fine.”
The CONCACAF executive dismissed the idea that they could wait a few days and see if grass would grow in the bare spots.
“(There is) no way grass will grow in four days; clearly something went wrong in the preparation of the field so that we don’t have a beautiful lush field like that used for the Cricket World Cup and what we assumed we would have to use.”
He also dismissed the idea that all the matches could be accommodated at the Catherine Hall facility as the field there, he said, was still new and conditions throughout would have to be perfect, adding that “that’s a lot of games for a field like that”.
With the tournament set to begin in a few days, Howard said there could be no change of dates for the games, but there might be “some tweaking of schedules”.
He, however, said they could not say for sure until late last night or early this morning after looking at the other venues.
Meanwhile, Reid reacted with anger and disappointment at what he called “an absolute disgrace, absolute disgrace and embarrassment to our country”.
Reid did not pull punches and placed the blame squarely at the feet of Independence Park Limited (IPL) and the Government.
“What is clear is all the assurances we have been given and reassurances we received, the authorities, Government and the IPL have not been able to deliver this facility.
“There is no grass here. I came here right after the Jazz and Blues festival when we had a meeting with the IPL and there was grass on the pitch,” he said.
Reid said he had written to the authorities, but had not gotten any response. “This is arrogance, contemptuous and unacceptable,” he fumed.
The veteran JFF administrator did not want to get into any discussions about possible repercussions as he said it “would take away my focus from immediate problems and what we have on our plate right now is to find some solutions to make this tournament happen”.
“A lot of money has been spent; 12 teams are in this tournament; all the hotel rooms are booked and paid for and lots of things are in place,” he explained.
Reid stressed that the tournament is a “qualifier for a FIFA tournament and impossible to relocate... so between the JFF, CONCACAF and Government (they) have to find some solutions”.
He said the situation would no doubt harm the JFF’s reputation within CONCACAF.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...ifiers_8347198
ailing grade! - Trelawny Stadium rejected as venue for U-17 Qualifiers
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer ?reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, February 10, 2011
FLORENCE HALL, Trelawny — Uncertainty surrounds Monday’s start of the Under-17 World Cup Qualifying series after the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium was yesterday rejected as a match venue by a team from regional body CONCACAF.
With four days to go before the start of the 12-team tournament, which will see four teams advancing to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico later this year, the organisers were last night scrambling to find a second venue to complement the Montego Bay Sports Complex.
The Trelawny facility was scheduled to host the opening matches of the series on Monday featuring Haiti vs Costa Rica at 12:30 pm and Cuba vs the USA at 3:00 pm.
The CONCACAF inspection team led by general secretary Ted Howard and Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) counterpart Horace Reid turned up at the venue to find a pitch with large spots bereft of grass.
Less than an hour before the arrival of the team, workmen were seen trying to fix spots on the field, with dried grass being rolled into the bare spots.
Jarrett Park, which hosted the qualifying tournament in 1999, was mooted as a possible replacement, but Howard said they would have to see that facility first.
Jarrett Park was one of the venues proposed by the JFF but was rejected and was instead being prepared as a practice facility.
Dalton Brown, the man responsible for the preparation of the field, was, however, adamant that all was not lost and if given time, the field would be ready.
While refusing to make any definitive statements, Brown told reporters that with time the situation would improve and said there were several contributing factors — including the recent staging of the Jazz Festival — why the field was not ready in time.
After a brief inspection, Howard told members of the media that the field was not ready to host a tournament of this magnitude and would only be used if there are no other available venues.
“We have serious concerns about the stadium,” the CONCACAF representative said.
“There is no grass on the field and this is not what we expected; we had assurances from back in September... and this clearly is a major concern to us to the point where we clearly will not be able to use this field.”
Howard said they would have to look at their options as “we need two stadiums somewhere and this would be an option if we had nothing else available”.
There was no Plan B, he said, as “I did not expect to see this. I expected to come see a field with lush grass and everything else would be fine.”
The CONCACAF executive dismissed the idea that they could wait a few days and see if grass would grow in the bare spots.
“(There is) no way grass will grow in four days; clearly something went wrong in the preparation of the field so that we don’t have a beautiful lush field like that used for the Cricket World Cup and what we assumed we would have to use.”
He also dismissed the idea that all the matches could be accommodated at the Catherine Hall facility as the field there, he said, was still new and conditions throughout would have to be perfect, adding that “that’s a lot of games for a field like that”.
With the tournament set to begin in a few days, Howard said there could be no change of dates for the games, but there might be “some tweaking of schedules”.
He, however, said they could not say for sure until late last night or early this morning after looking at the other venues.
Meanwhile, Reid reacted with anger and disappointment at what he called “an absolute disgrace, absolute disgrace and embarrassment to our country”.
Reid did not pull punches and placed the blame squarely at the feet of Independence Park Limited (IPL) and the Government.
“What is clear is all the assurances we have been given and reassurances we received, the authorities, Government and the IPL have not been able to deliver this facility.
“There is no grass here. I came here right after the Jazz and Blues festival when we had a meeting with the IPL and there was grass on the pitch,” he said.
Reid said he had written to the authorities, but had not gotten any response. “This is arrogance, contemptuous and unacceptable,” he fumed.
The veteran JFF administrator did not want to get into any discussions about possible repercussions as he said it “would take away my focus from immediate problems and what we have on our plate right now is to find some solutions to make this tournament happen”.
“A lot of money has been spent; 12 teams are in this tournament; all the hotel rooms are booked and paid for and lots of things are in place,” he explained.
Reid stressed that the tournament is a “qualifier for a FIFA tournament and impossible to relocate... so between the JFF, CONCACAF and Government (they) have to find some solutions”.
He said the situation would no doubt harm the JFF’s reputation within CONCACAF.