Jamaica's football development and the UB40 debate

[Dunny]

Every Jamaican football fan would love to see the Reggae Boyz strutting their stuff with the best teams in the world in a World Cup final. There are some who believe that Jamaica can qualify without the help of players playing proffesionally in England of Jamaican heritage. Some believe that these players will not make a difference to our programme because of the belief that they won't give everything for the cause and they are only there merely for a holiday. I call on all Jamaicans to respect the decisions these guys have made to fly accross the Atlantic to come and represent our beloved country, believe me this is not an easy decision as this can have a massive impact on their club careers. Playing an International on Wednesday night and flying back to prepare and play on a Saturday is not easy and a lot of managers do not take kindly to it, so the easy option for these guys would be to stay at their clubs stay with their families and enjoy an easy life. Let us get our head out of the sand and realize that Jamaica have zero chance of qualifying for a World Cup with just our local and the few Jamaican born players plying there trade abroad. Our local League is of a poor standard and is not conducive for preparing players for the high intensity of International football. Yes we have talented players, however it needs more than talent to succeed at the higher level. The UB40's bring a mix of talent and professionalism along with a higher level of fitness and tactical awareness because of the level and intensity that they play at every week. We all agree that the development of young players is a major issue and need to be addressed, however without the necessary finance in place Jamaica's football will continue to stand still. Jamaica's football can only develop if we have success on the pitch and more results like the one we had in Mexico City can only enhance our standing get people talking about football on the Island again and bring back much needed sponsorship.There is no way sponsors will want to associate themselves with failure so success on the pitch is a must to get the programme back on track. Reaching another World Cup final will have a massive impact on the youngsters and they would aspire to replicate their heroes. We have seen the impact our athletes have made and it would be exactly the same for football. The UB40 debate is here to stay because Jamaica's football need these guys to get us to the next level. Jamaica is in the unique position where they can be as good as they want to be, it is as simple as that. There is enough players with Jamaican Heritage playing in England to make Jamaica the very best in Concacaf. I rest my case.

[Mosiah]

Dunny, you did a good job making a case for UB40s. To really make my case, no one would bother to read it, unless I do it in bullet form. Let's see how this works.

This is the ideal situation for me:

1. JFF, the parish FAs and the local clubs must give serious meaning to development of players.
2. I know it will be difficult to get the sort of financial input for effective development because of the economic situation that exists in the country and which will continue for the foreseeable future. Clubs have to be creative. The government needs to stop interfering into projects conceived by those foreigners with money. Why was the Sturridge family frustrated to the point of not bothering with their planned football academy?
3. With this real commitment to development, better players get called up to the age group national teams and the senior team. From here, they can be showcased to the world and be offered foreign contracts.
4. These contracts give their clubs money badly needed to further their development, not just coaching and providing nutriment, but also their infrastructure (fields, clubhouse, dormitories).
5. These contracts also pump money back into the players' communities by way of remittances.
6. The Jamaican players who now have the benefit of playing in top leagues against top players every week, can now compete with UB40s for places in Reggae Boyz teams more effectively.
7. If this is not the formula, then what we will eventually see is a team composed only of UB40s. Not sure this is what anyone wants to see. Not sure this is what the local sponsors want to see. Will foreign companies pick up the slack?
8. UB40s must declare themselves relatively early. My cut off point is prior to qualification for the Hex. We can talk now because we had a good result against the Mexicans in the Azteca. I would caution against this sort of unbridled euphoria. I am seeing where there are some who feel we can qualify by June!
9. Not all players are created equal. I can understand the JFF making allowances for players, like a Raheem Sterling, and giving them more time to consider. Not all cases are the same. Now, this family tree investigation and begging that we did the other day is a factor of the level of local development. Hopefully we will see less of this if development improves.
10. Having said all that, I do appreciate the apparent quality and commitment by our current UB40 crop. One match can't demonstrate quality and commitment for me, hence my use of the word "apparent".

[Jangle]

Good points by both, however, people in the know, like you Mosiah, neeed to bring situations like the Sturridge family's desire to set up academy and as you say, the government's interferences, to the public's attention. These are things that need to be debated and to cast a spotlight on the bs that is holding us back.

[Dunny]

Agreed with what you are saying, i am happy that you mentioned the parish associations and the clubs because while the JFF are the governors of the game they can't be solely responsible for developing young players. In countries like England, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France and Holland the clubs are the ones who do the ground work. However Jamaica need to find a system that works for them. I have to say i agreed with the way how the JFF recruited these guys in November. To know how committed people are you need to speak to them face to face. I also believe that Tappa and the coaching team thought they had enough with the addition of Mapps and Nuggsy to qualify. When they only just sneaked into the final round they realized that they had to do something. To make a decision to go and play for Jamaica is not easy because this decision can affect them and their families livelihood. It can come down to how your club manager view it and also the status they hold within their clubs, so if a man takes is time to make a decision i wouldn't hold it against him. Then you have the waggonist, the likes of Junior Hoilett that you don't want nowhere near your squad because his game is obvious. I have been told that Nathan Dyer will definately be another one to commit is future to the Boyz.

[Jangle]

Why did Nathan need so much time to make up his mind? I like him as a player and I think he would make an excellent addition to the Boyz.

[Dunny]

Why did Nathan need so much time to make up his mind? I like him as a player and I think he would make an excellent addition to the Boyz.

I don't know his reasons but i agree he is a fantastic little player and would improve us.

[Sir X]

Can you enlighten us ....Why was the Sturridge family frustrated to the point of not bothering with their planned football academy?

[Mosiah]

All is not over with that academy. I have already assured my contacts that we will find a private facility that will welcome them with open arms the next time around.

I remain hopeful. Wuss like how Daniel gone a Liverpool now! Woooiieee!

[Mosiah]

The recommended site at the time was the Sligoville Stadium. The family's contact and I had gone up to the facility, taken numerous photographs which were shared with the family. They were excited about the possibilities.

Daniel was at Chelsea at the time and they felt they could get Chelsea to make a substantial contribution towards the running of the academy, in addition to what the family was going to invest.

Well, it so happens that the stadium belongs to the community and, as such, the MP would have to get involved. One or two family members, along with my contact, met with the minister and apparently things began to go downhill from there. I don't know all the details but I do understand that it was suggested that they consider another part in the parish that was closer to that MP's residence, or something to that effect. And that was it.

I spoke to my contact recently and he was telling me about the family being frustrated to the point of not wanting to bother with it anymore. I assured him we could look at other venues where politicians' meddling tentacles would not be welcomed.

[Jangle]

A weh di @#$% the MP play football? That Sligoville location is ideal for an academy.

[Sir X]

lol suh di M P want a cut or want to control di runnings,aah sah if unnu did juss advocate empowering the contractor general dem ting deh couldnt gwaan...really sad though dont give up, mek sure im rope in sterling.

[Tilla]

X, this is called thread hijacking. You could have started another discussion so it does not take away from the flow of the discussion. Anyway, not chastising you, just pointing out the obvious.

[Sir X]

What is obvious ? the corruption in football which MO spoke upon and I highlighted or MOs JFJ links which I highlighted , what has hijacked the football , the corruption or the JFJ links ?

Open season for me in all seriousness and humour.

[Tilla]

What is obvious ? the corruption in football which MO spoke upon and I highlighted or MOs JFJ links which I highlighted , what has hijacked the football , the corruption or the JFJ links ?

Open season for me in all seriousness and humour.

I think your point on corruption would be more visible than hidden inside a post on another topic. Anyway, I do not mean to get too much into this. I just thought Dunny started a good post only to see it being changed to something else. While your discussion could stand on its own merits if it were posted in a different thread.

Some forums I have visited have strict rules against this type of behavior. Unfortunately, we are not that rigid, we allow users to exercise judgment in posting. Anyway boss, not a big deal.

[Stonigut]

The jamglish diaspora is important, but it is like remittances, it is helpful but you cannot build a country on remittances, you can't build a football program from outside the country.

We are a poor to a middle income country it will take a lot to develop a sustainable pro league of any consequence in Jamaica almost impossible really. Thus our strategy should be develop a great farm system and develop that into a farm system without par in north and Central America, we have the pure talent in jamaica, Haiti, small islands, dr, Cuba, etc A pool of 20 million plus people that can create the base for our semi pro clubs to be a spring head for farm systems scouting all these areas and exporting the talent across the pro leagues everywhere. On the jamaica national team side the farm system will provide the ground to develop the best players in jamaica competing against the best players in the region on Jamaican soil in this farm system. The national team must be based on the best of the local developed stars who have succeeded abroad, that must be the core of the team now and going forward, thus Austin, Phillips, ricketts, Taylor, Cummings, Richards, jj, Omar Daley, mattocks, etc etc


The jamglish guys the Ub40's the janadians, the jamericans, we take the best of those and integrate into the side to strengthen the weakness or holes in the team. We cannot build the team by looking outside first, we must build around the best of the local successful core, those that have shown they are more than talent, they are about discipline, desire and commitment.