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Burrell says home games will put local Boyz in spotlight
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport Editor
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1mewmdGRT
Local football boss, Captain Horace Burrell, says the string of international friendly matches slated for local soil will provide a great opportunity for home-based players to stake their claim for places in coach Theodore Whitmore's World Cup squad.
Burrell, the president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), explained that the philosophy of his administration to maintain a flock of resident players in local training camps serves in part to provide these footballers with an avenue to showcase their stuff.
Digicel CEO Mark Linehan (right) and Stewart’s Auto Sales managing director, Diana Stewart, whose companies sponsor the national football programme, have a good laugh at a JFF press conference in Kingston on Monday. (Photos: Jermaine Barnaby)
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1mexBtGQy
BURRELL... now they will have all the chances in the world to impress the coaching staff
"There have been talks that our local-based players are not getting the chance, now they will have all the chances in the world to impress the coaching staff, they will get the opportunity and I am hoping they will make use of it," said the football executive as he announced more games for the senior Reggae Boyz in addition to three others confirmed for this month.
In addition to two games against Cuba at the National Stadium on February 22 and two days later at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, plus another away to New Zealand on the 29th, the Boyz have booked home games against Costa Rica on March 21 and Panama on May 27.
"It's a tremendous opportunity (for local players), especially against the kind of teams we will be playing and this will test the true mettle of our local-based players... to me that's very important because we want to involve all our players, those who ply their trade here in the National Premier League and those who do so overseas," said Burrell, who also serves CONCACAF as a member of its executive.
He said that the home games will be played outside of the FIFA calendar for international friendly matches, therefore the team will be made up of mostly players from the local-based pool.
For the Cuba ties, only three USA-based players in Jermaine Taylor, Jevaughn Watson and Ryan Johnson will be available.
"Many of the foreign players may not be available and the local players who have been showing form will now get their chance to prove their worth and give coach Whitmore and his staff a better insight as to their quality and competence at the highest level," Burrell said.
Like Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panama will be depending on their home-based players to carry on their programmes in the absence of their foreign-based professionals.
"They will want to give some of their local players, with the unavailability of their overseas-based players, the opportunity to show what they can do as they fine-tune their preparation.
"All those teams (Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba) have qualified for the next round (of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers) and all the various countries are going all out to get a head start when it comes to the qualifications, which will commence in June; they are taking it seriously and so are we," said Burrell, who was appointed to FIFA's Olympic Organising Committee for Football Tournaments mere weeks after completing a three-month FIFA sanction.
Jamaica will kickstart their World Cup campaign at the CONCACAF semi-finals where they open against Central America outfit Guatemala at the National Stadium on June 8. The Reggae Boyz also have nemesis USA and Antigua and Barbuda on their Group A schedule.
Burrell was, however, cognizant that the technical programme for the World Cup campaign is not perfectly poised at this time, but expressed satisfaction with its momentum all things considered.
"We would have liked to be further ahead, but at the same time the core of our players are in the prime of their leagues in England and other parts of Europe, and in the USA where they are in training camps all over the world, therefore I am very satisfied and we have to feel that we are at the right place at this time," he noted.
There are those who hold the view that the World Cup programme is lagging as coach Whitmore and his staff are concentrating too much time with a bunch of local players, whose prospects of making the "final squad" are not encouraging.
But Whitmore, who has been entrusted to lead Jamaica's bid for a second World Cup qualification, said the local camps are not only aimed at identifying players for the Brazil 2014 campaign, but critically represents a strategy of continuity of the programme and in keeping with the JFF's mandate of keeping the door open for players desirous of wearing the national colours.
"It's not only about the World Cup, what about the Caribbean Cup, which comes up at year's end? We have to build a local-based squad as those players will form the core of that team... having a local-based team in training and in readiness is not only a part of the technical programme, but a policy of the JFF," said Jamaica's hero at the France 1998 World Cup where he claimed a delightful brace for the Boyz's 2-1 win over Japan.
In a seven-day camp currently underway, Whitmore has summoned 24 players of goalkeepers Kelso Cousins, Jacomeno Barrett and Richard McCallum; defenders Xavion Virgo, Rohan Reid, Adrian Reid, Montrose Phinn, Keneil Moodie, Upston Edwards, Troy Smith, Andrae Campbell; midfielders Oneil Thompson, Richard Edwards, Ewan Grandison, Vincent Earle, Joel Senior, Camal Reid, Romeo Parkes, Jorginho James, Renae Lloyd; forwards Navion Boyd, Tramaine Stewart, Mitchily Waul and Dino Williams.
Meanwhile, Burrell said with a US$7.5 million (about J$650 million) World Cup budget to source, he and his team at the Federation is in overdrive mode in pursuit of the Mission to Rio 2014 campaign goals.
"I have committed myself and the Federation to going all out to get the best for our players and to give them the best chance of qualifying for the World Cup and beyond," said Burrell, who warned that the programme does not stop with the senior agenda.
"We are not only looking to Brazil 2014, but for the future. We are trying hard to get the best for the Under-17s, Under-20s and Under-23s and our women's teams... as I go around the world, I am not only looking for talent at the senior level, but at all levels," he told the Observer on Monday.
"If you ask me, Jamaica's football future is safe and we will continue to give the effort our full hundred," he concluded.
Over the past month or so, the JFF has been able to sign new sponsorship arrangements with Platinum sponsors Kappa and Digicel and Gold-designated Stewart's Auto valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Burrell has promised more news of others deals on the horizon.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1mewbBpfT
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport Editor
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1mewmdGRT
Local football boss, Captain Horace Burrell, says the string of international friendly matches slated for local soil will provide a great opportunity for home-based players to stake their claim for places in coach Theodore Whitmore's World Cup squad.
Burrell, the president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), explained that the philosophy of his administration to maintain a flock of resident players in local training camps serves in part to provide these footballers with an avenue to showcase their stuff.
Digicel CEO Mark Linehan (right) and Stewart’s Auto Sales managing director, Diana Stewart, whose companies sponsor the national football programme, have a good laugh at a JFF press conference in Kingston on Monday. (Photos: Jermaine Barnaby)
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1mexBtGQy
BURRELL... now they will have all the chances in the world to impress the coaching staff
"There have been talks that our local-based players are not getting the chance, now they will have all the chances in the world to impress the coaching staff, they will get the opportunity and I am hoping they will make use of it," said the football executive as he announced more games for the senior Reggae Boyz in addition to three others confirmed for this month.
In addition to two games against Cuba at the National Stadium on February 22 and two days later at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, plus another away to New Zealand on the 29th, the Boyz have booked home games against Costa Rica on March 21 and Panama on May 27.
"It's a tremendous opportunity (for local players), especially against the kind of teams we will be playing and this will test the true mettle of our local-based players... to me that's very important because we want to involve all our players, those who ply their trade here in the National Premier League and those who do so overseas," said Burrell, who also serves CONCACAF as a member of its executive.
He said that the home games will be played outside of the FIFA calendar for international friendly matches, therefore the team will be made up of mostly players from the local-based pool.
For the Cuba ties, only three USA-based players in Jermaine Taylor, Jevaughn Watson and Ryan Johnson will be available.
"Many of the foreign players may not be available and the local players who have been showing form will now get their chance to prove their worth and give coach Whitmore and his staff a better insight as to their quality and competence at the highest level," Burrell said.
Like Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panama will be depending on their home-based players to carry on their programmes in the absence of their foreign-based professionals.
"They will want to give some of their local players, with the unavailability of their overseas-based players, the opportunity to show what they can do as they fine-tune their preparation.
"All those teams (Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba) have qualified for the next round (of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers) and all the various countries are going all out to get a head start when it comes to the qualifications, which will commence in June; they are taking it seriously and so are we," said Burrell, who was appointed to FIFA's Olympic Organising Committee for Football Tournaments mere weeks after completing a three-month FIFA sanction.
Jamaica will kickstart their World Cup campaign at the CONCACAF semi-finals where they open against Central America outfit Guatemala at the National Stadium on June 8. The Reggae Boyz also have nemesis USA and Antigua and Barbuda on their Group A schedule.
Burrell was, however, cognizant that the technical programme for the World Cup campaign is not perfectly poised at this time, but expressed satisfaction with its momentum all things considered.
"We would have liked to be further ahead, but at the same time the core of our players are in the prime of their leagues in England and other parts of Europe, and in the USA where they are in training camps all over the world, therefore I am very satisfied and we have to feel that we are at the right place at this time," he noted.
There are those who hold the view that the World Cup programme is lagging as coach Whitmore and his staff are concentrating too much time with a bunch of local players, whose prospects of making the "final squad" are not encouraging.
But Whitmore, who has been entrusted to lead Jamaica's bid for a second World Cup qualification, said the local camps are not only aimed at identifying players for the Brazil 2014 campaign, but critically represents a strategy of continuity of the programme and in keeping with the JFF's mandate of keeping the door open for players desirous of wearing the national colours.
"It's not only about the World Cup, what about the Caribbean Cup, which comes up at year's end? We have to build a local-based squad as those players will form the core of that team... having a local-based team in training and in readiness is not only a part of the technical programme, but a policy of the JFF," said Jamaica's hero at the France 1998 World Cup where he claimed a delightful brace for the Boyz's 2-1 win over Japan.
In a seven-day camp currently underway, Whitmore has summoned 24 players of goalkeepers Kelso Cousins, Jacomeno Barrett and Richard McCallum; defenders Xavion Virgo, Rohan Reid, Adrian Reid, Montrose Phinn, Keneil Moodie, Upston Edwards, Troy Smith, Andrae Campbell; midfielders Oneil Thompson, Richard Edwards, Ewan Grandison, Vincent Earle, Joel Senior, Camal Reid, Romeo Parkes, Jorginho James, Renae Lloyd; forwards Navion Boyd, Tramaine Stewart, Mitchily Waul and Dino Williams.
Meanwhile, Burrell said with a US$7.5 million (about J$650 million) World Cup budget to source, he and his team at the Federation is in overdrive mode in pursuit of the Mission to Rio 2014 campaign goals.
"I have committed myself and the Federation to going all out to get the best for our players and to give them the best chance of qualifying for the World Cup and beyond," said Burrell, who warned that the programme does not stop with the senior agenda.
"We are not only looking to Brazil 2014, but for the future. We are trying hard to get the best for the Under-17s, Under-20s and Under-23s and our women's teams... as I go around the world, I am not only looking for talent at the senior level, but at all levels," he told the Observer on Monday.
"If you ask me, Jamaica's football future is safe and we will continue to give the effort our full hundred," he concluded.
Over the past month or so, the JFF has been able to sign new sponsorship arrangements with Platinum sponsors Kappa and Digicel and Gold-designated Stewart's Auto valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Burrell has promised more news of others deals on the horizon.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1mewbBpfT
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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