National Under 15 team cant get visas

[Karl]

Young Reggae Boyz grounded
published: Friday | August 17, 2007


Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Jamaica's Reggae Boyz, defending Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-15 Cup champions, will forfeit their title, after last-ditch efforts by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to get emergency visa appointment dates from the United States Embassy failed yesterday.

With the tournament scheduled to kick off tomorrow in Trinidad and Tobago the contingent will have to stay put, owing to the fact that 13 members of the 22-man squad have no U.S. visas. The visas have become a requirement because the flight, which would have taken the team to Trinidad via the Miami International Airport.

The team was originally expected to travel straight to Trinidad via Caribbean Airlines, but lost their seats on that flight due to an inability to finalise the squad so the airline could confirm the booking.

Sources close to the JFF organisation have, however, also indicated that economic concerns might have been a factor in the decision to change flight plans, with the JFF having a current deal with national carriers Air Jamaica.

When The Gleaner made an attempt to clarify the issue general secretary Burchell Gibson refused to comment, stating that the facts of the case were generally known already. The team had an almost identical problem when they won the tournament in 2005 with most of the players being granted U.S. visas at the last minute.

No fruit
According to a press release sent out by the JFF, online applications for emergency visa appointments resulted in November being the earliest possible date. A subsequent attempt to hold a meeting with the consular section of the U.S. Embassy bore no fruit. The JFF had earlier managed a successful emergency meeting with the Ministry of National Security, as many of the players also had no passports.

The situation was a distressing one for head coach Patrick 'Jackie' Walters, who was given a mandate to start preparing the team just a little over two weeks ago, after what seemed to be a very late selection of a technical team by the JFF.

"Of course I think that all of this could have been avoided, but that's an administrative issue. As the coach and manager, we did everything possible to go to that tournament," said Walters, who was assistant coach when the team won the tournament.
"It's a major disappointment for us, but more than that, this set the programme back quite a bit," he added.

[Reggae-Fan]

I hope the CFU slap a fine on their collective asses. What an embarassment. Boxhill, TAKE AWAY YOURSELF.

[Mosiah]

I have no problem with the "late" finalization of the squad. I do believe that is normal. But the lack of passports and mess-ups of travel plans is inexcusable.

I also heard that part of the problem was that some players did not birth certificates. How is that possible? Don't they need them to attend school?!

[Peter R]

"The JFF got entangled in a chain reaction of events after they were forced to give up seats originally booked for a direct flight on Caribbean Airlines to Port of Spain, because they could not finalise a squad on time, and the airline needed to confirm bookings going into the present peak period.

A late appointment of a coach for the team triggered the delay in selecting a training squad, and ultimately the final 18-man squad, which was chosen late last week.

It was at this point that it was discovered that the majority of the players did not have passports, but emergency appointments were made to the Ministry of National Security and passports were issued earlier this week.
With one problem solved, another emerged as it was learnt that there were no available seats on other Caribbean flights to Trinidad."

Gross incompetence if you ask me. so is the availability of flights that drove the squad selection? What nonsense!

Anyone who is registered with the JFF as a potential player should automatically from when they are first scouted be required to have valid passports,end of story.

pr

[Peter R]

As my friend used to say, "failing to plan is planning to fail"

pr

[OJ]

I dont think the blame is with the us embassy. Its with planning. Why do you need the name of players to fly commercially? Can you not book 20 seats as a block and add the names 2 weeks before. Thats what they do here. I think this is again a federation in peril.

[Jamaica2099]

The era (that's how long it seems) of Clueless Creston Brainless Boxhill's forgetable failures is finally coming to an un-eventful end.
The past four years must be placed in the backpages of the annals of our football history.
Let's move on and prepare for the 2008 edition of the CFU Youth Cup.
And let's hope that this debacle has not damage the psyche of our U-15 Young Boyz.

And lest we forget. This time Jack Warner will have no motive to switch the format of the tournament at the quarter-finals stage.

[Mosiah]

Someone once told me that they could not do that.

[Hortical]

True...you need individual names of the ballers who are going to fly. One might have been able to do that before 9-11, but not now with increased security screening at airports.

[Karl]

Agreed!

[Time]

This is how to do it

You need to book the 20 seats with 20 names, if you have a good relationship with the airline then you do an indirect transfer of the seats to the final 20 players You do that by adding new names first as standby and then cancelling the confirmed seats. You then assign the seats to the new names.

You need a good relationship with the airline because they could charge you more for the new tickets and also cancellation fees.

[Assasin]

Well him shoulda fire the person who responsible fi travel arrangements then.

I guess him can't do that either?

[Sickko]

There will be a fine but I hope the JFF appeals on the grounds that it was the US Embassy that refused to give them the emergency appointment as used to happen in the past, why they were not able to turn up.

[Jangle]

Well him shoulda fire the person who responsible fi travel arrangements then.

I guess him can't do that either?

Fire???? Cho me nuh did seh dat fram the fock up wid de Asia tour debacle. It must be the same person who is responsible because since they've been back I have heard of no firings. The entire JFF staff and board needs to be swept out of office and be taken over by professionals. The JFF needs to be an incorporated body with a CEO/Chairman, President and a board of directors.

[Mosiah]

I thought it was incorporated?!!?

What was the fck up with the Asia tour? I don't recall. Apart from the buss asses.