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Contemplating Jamaican football without Captain Burrell
By PAUL A REID Observer West writer
Thursday, October 20, 2011
THE "football Tsunami" promised by former CONCACAF and CFU boss Austin "Jack" Warner finally arrived last week but not in the way he thought it would.
A leaked videotape from a meeting in Port of Spain in May this year with his voice advising Caribbean Football Union delegates to take the US$40,000 'incentive' to vote for former FIFA presidential hopeful Mohamed bin Hamamm has backfired in Jack's face and he and others in the regional football hierarchy could be drowned in the resulting tidal wave.
BURRELL... received a six-month ban
BURRELL... received a six-month ban 1/1
Jamaica's football was rocked on Friday when news broke that FIFA had banned Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell for six months, three of which has been suspended for two years for his part in the ongoing bribery conspiracy.
While neither Burrell nor any Jamaican has been fingered for taking bribes their role in the matter has been questioned.
Now there are speculations as to Burrell's future in football as this suspension could put an end to his ambitions of climbing the football ladder all the way to a FIFA vice-presidency position, much like where his mentor Warner got to and stayed for a long time.
The big question is: if during his suspension Burrell decides he has no where else to go and decides to get out of football, what will be the consequences? This could prove a crippling blow to the game at the local level.
Regardless of what we think the motives are for his sponsoring a number of football leagues in the island, the fact is Burrell stepped up when other potential sponsors were unwilling to support the football leagues.
Burrell stepped out of his comfort zone and showed his love for sports when he threw a $1million lifeline to the ailing Jamaica Cricket Board's Limited Overs Competition.
If he should take his cheque book and leave sports, at least five leagues across three western parishes would be left without a sponsor, not to mention several others across the length and breadth of the country.
As he admitted however, he was not completely guilt free in the entire episode and we can only hope Burrell takes the time off to rest and recharge his batteries and renew his work in the sport.
Burrell has been the driving force behind Jamaica's football for the better part of 17 years and while his leadership style might have rubbed some the wrong way, he had the vision that Jamaica could make it to the FIFA World Cup Finals when most other leaders were thinking of winning the CFU title and making it to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/weste...#ixzz1bKUtfV4A
Contemplating Jamaican football without Captain Burrell
By PAUL A REID Observer West writer
Thursday, October 20, 2011
THE "football Tsunami" promised by former CONCACAF and CFU boss Austin "Jack" Warner finally arrived last week but not in the way he thought it would.
A leaked videotape from a meeting in Port of Spain in May this year with his voice advising Caribbean Football Union delegates to take the US$40,000 'incentive' to vote for former FIFA presidential hopeful Mohamed bin Hamamm has backfired in Jack's face and he and others in the regional football hierarchy could be drowned in the resulting tidal wave.
BURRELL... received a six-month ban
BURRELL... received a six-month ban 1/1
Jamaica's football was rocked on Friday when news broke that FIFA had banned Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell for six months, three of which has been suspended for two years for his part in the ongoing bribery conspiracy.
While neither Burrell nor any Jamaican has been fingered for taking bribes their role in the matter has been questioned.
Now there are speculations as to Burrell's future in football as this suspension could put an end to his ambitions of climbing the football ladder all the way to a FIFA vice-presidency position, much like where his mentor Warner got to and stayed for a long time.
The big question is: if during his suspension Burrell decides he has no where else to go and decides to get out of football, what will be the consequences? This could prove a crippling blow to the game at the local level.
Regardless of what we think the motives are for his sponsoring a number of football leagues in the island, the fact is Burrell stepped up when other potential sponsors were unwilling to support the football leagues.
Burrell stepped out of his comfort zone and showed his love for sports when he threw a $1million lifeline to the ailing Jamaica Cricket Board's Limited Overs Competition.
If he should take his cheque book and leave sports, at least five leagues across three western parishes would be left without a sponsor, not to mention several others across the length and breadth of the country.
As he admitted however, he was not completely guilt free in the entire episode and we can only hope Burrell takes the time off to rest and recharge his batteries and renew his work in the sport.
Burrell has been the driving force behind Jamaica's football for the better part of 17 years and while his leadership style might have rubbed some the wrong way, he had the vision that Jamaica could make it to the FIFA World Cup Finals when most other leaders were thinking of winning the CFU title and making it to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/weste...#ixzz1bKUtfV4A
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