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Beyond Mexico
Saturday, February 26, 2011
We are told by our reporter that while others on the scene indulged in wild celebrations on Jamaica's qualification for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup finals, general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federations (JFF) Mr Horace Reid "stood away".
He confessed that while he was just as pleased as anyone else, his predominant feeling was one of "relief" following Jamaica's 2-1 triumph over Honduras in the CONCACAF qualifiers in Montego Bay on Wednesday.
No wonder. For over the last two weeks problems associated with the tournament have been such that failure to qualify by the young Reggae Boyz would have been totally unpalatable for the general populace.
We refer, of course, to the abandonment of the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium as a match venue, virtually on the tournament's eve, because the field was deemed unfit. This, followed by the brouhaha related to the decision to send home the Haitian squad due to a malaria scare.
Also, Mr Reid would have overseen the spending of many millions of dollars in preparing the Under-17s for the 12-team qualifying tournament, inclusive of a six-week training stint in Brazil.
We are pleased to note that CONCACAF's director of television and marketing Mr Manolo Zubiria has given Jamaican organisers positive marks for the organisation of the tournament and in particular for their "problem-solving skills". We are aware that such praise has been bestowed even though there were problems with playing surfaces, especially at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay.
Having said all of that, Jamaica's team, including management and coaches, led by Mr Wendell Downswell, deserves kudos and more for a job well done.
To understand the magnitude of their achievement, one must first of all recognise that this is only the third age-group Jamaica team to qualify for a FIFA age-group tournament finals — following the Under-17s of 1999 and basically the same group at the Under-20 level two years later.
It's tempting to believe that the current players can go on to great things — not only in Mexico where the finals will be played later this year, but in years to come.
However, we are aware from hard experience that this doesn't necessarily follow. Of those who claimed glory for Jamaica in 1999 and 2001 several have fallen away into oblivion and very few have had truly successful careers.
To a considerable extent, individuals must take responsibility for their failure to maximise their potential. But there can be no doubt that grave weaknesses in Jamaica's football programme also contributed significantly to this underachievement.
Undoubtedly, resource limitations have adversely affected the growth of football at all levels. But we regret to say that over the last decade Jamaica's football has also been hurt by political infighting and an absence of vision.
As the football fraternity celebrates this latest success, it must also begin immediately to put coherent plans in place to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated. This triumph in Montego Bay must not be a one-off. It should be made a stepping stone to greater and continuing glory for Jamaica's football.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1F4qOtREb
Saturday, February 26, 2011
We are told by our reporter that while others on the scene indulged in wild celebrations on Jamaica's qualification for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup finals, general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federations (JFF) Mr Horace Reid "stood away".
He confessed that while he was just as pleased as anyone else, his predominant feeling was one of "relief" following Jamaica's 2-1 triumph over Honduras in the CONCACAF qualifiers in Montego Bay on Wednesday.
No wonder. For over the last two weeks problems associated with the tournament have been such that failure to qualify by the young Reggae Boyz would have been totally unpalatable for the general populace.
We refer, of course, to the abandonment of the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium as a match venue, virtually on the tournament's eve, because the field was deemed unfit. This, followed by the brouhaha related to the decision to send home the Haitian squad due to a malaria scare.
Also, Mr Reid would have overseen the spending of many millions of dollars in preparing the Under-17s for the 12-team qualifying tournament, inclusive of a six-week training stint in Brazil.
We are pleased to note that CONCACAF's director of television and marketing Mr Manolo Zubiria has given Jamaican organisers positive marks for the organisation of the tournament and in particular for their "problem-solving skills". We are aware that such praise has been bestowed even though there were problems with playing surfaces, especially at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay.
Having said all of that, Jamaica's team, including management and coaches, led by Mr Wendell Downswell, deserves kudos and more for a job well done.
To understand the magnitude of their achievement, one must first of all recognise that this is only the third age-group Jamaica team to qualify for a FIFA age-group tournament finals — following the Under-17s of 1999 and basically the same group at the Under-20 level two years later.
It's tempting to believe that the current players can go on to great things — not only in Mexico where the finals will be played later this year, but in years to come.
However, we are aware from hard experience that this doesn't necessarily follow. Of those who claimed glory for Jamaica in 1999 and 2001 several have fallen away into oblivion and very few have had truly successful careers.
To a considerable extent, individuals must take responsibility for their failure to maximise their potential. But there can be no doubt that grave weaknesses in Jamaica's football programme also contributed significantly to this underachievement.
Undoubtedly, resource limitations have adversely affected the growth of football at all levels. But we regret to say that over the last decade Jamaica's football has also been hurt by political infighting and an absence of vision.
As the football fraternity celebrates this latest success, it must also begin immediately to put coherent plans in place to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated. This triumph in Montego Bay must not be a one-off. It should be made a stepping stone to greater and continuing glory for Jamaica's football.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1F4qOtREb