The blue print for developing jamaica's football !

[Sir X]

Machel Turner
Sports Management Professional !

Improving Jamaican Football: Rising from the ashes of 2018 World Cup Qualification


Part 1: Rebuilding for 2022

The recent elimination of Jamaican football’s flagship team from World Cup Qualification for Russia 2018
has led to concern about the state of the country’s football from all corners. Among the contrasting levels
of vitriol and sound reasoning from voices in the public and media, the one common thread has been
to focus on DEVELOPING JAMAICAN TALENT. This common element remains despite differing stances on
surrounding issues such as the suitability of the current coach and staff, the competence of the
administrators, the quality of local players and leagues and the usefulness of foreign born players.
Setting Goals.

I believe that at the moment there are two outcomes which football stakeholders in Jamaica need to be
pursuing. The first of these should be a presence at the Hexagonal stage of CONCACAF qualification for
the 2022 World Cup, which will begin at the latter part of 2020. That is a four- year goal which requires
immediate reconstruction of the squad. The second should be a longer term vision for a consistent
presence at the Hexagonal stage of CONCACAF and perpetual status as one of the top 4 nations in
CONCACAF. The focus for this would be the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup, an 8 to 10-
year goal.

The achievement of the second goal requires a new structure from the grassroots to the elite level. The
emphasis of this goal will be equipping players born in Jamaica with the technical and tactical proficiency
to perform consistently at the high level that is needed to compete on the international stage. Special
focus needs to be placed on creating environments in which young footballers are provided with all the
necessary tools to achieve their potential.

This change in structure would not bear real fruit immediately but some of these changes could have an
effect in the short term if they are acted on swiftly and with clarity of purpose. Suggestions for this
structural transformation will be explored in the subsequent articles of this series. In this case, the
introduction of a suitable, well thought out player development pathway clearly outlining the various
stages of player development (Parts 2 & 3), improvements in coach education (Part 4), improved facilities
(Part 5) and a more appropriate senior club structure (Part 6) are of paramount importance.
This introductory piece will focus on steps that can be taken towards achieving Goal #1: A place in the
final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Creating a Core

The focus should be turned to players born after 1990 as we look toward this competition, with team
selections from this point onwards consisting only of players 26 years old or younger.
Players such as Andre Blake, Dever Orgill, Darren Mattocks and Michael Hector should now become the
most senior members of the core squad, along with experienced players under the age of 23 such as
Kemar Lawrence, Alvas Powell and Omar Holness. In addition, younger players who have been capped,
such as Michael Seaton and Jamar Loza, should be considered in addition to the increasing number of
younger players in professional environments abroad e.g. Junior Flemmings, Oniel Fisher, etc. A pool of
15-20 overseas based professionals can and should be identified within these parameters.
The focus on DEVELOPMENT, which is a source of agreement by all, should include building a core of
locally based players. Using similar age criteria as above, a selection of players should be made at the
beginning of 2017. This should include the careful observance and assessment of players playing at the
schoolboy level (for current U-20 & U-17 age group) and in the local Red Stripe Premier League.
The selected senior players should be assembled on a regular basis for training and assessment in the
tactical, technical, physiological and mental aspects of the game with a view to their presence as regular
members of the Reggae Boyz senior squad by 2020. This regular assembly should also be the status quo
for the country’s U-20 and U-17 pool of players with the goal of them being regular members of the
national U-23 squad by 2020 as well as graduating into the senior team. A well- defined JFF Technical team
must be appointed to oversee the progress of these groups, including the coaching staffs of all Jamaica
national representative teams along with a JFF designated doctor, physio, strength and conditioning
trainer, psychologist and a video analyst.

Providing playing opportunities
The four years leading to the start of the qualification process for 2022 World Cup should see team
selections that allows a core set of players to grow together. Their focus would include Caribbean Cup
competitions of 2016/17 and 2018/19 as well as the Gold Cups of 2017 and 2019. All FIFA Calendar
international dates should be taken advantage of, with friendlies arranged regularly in order to build
experience and match practice for these players as a group, something that has not been done frequently
in the recent past. The team must be kept active.
Foreign born players

I disagree with the total abandonment of foreign born players because I believe it widens our pool of
players and adds more professionalism to the squad, given the current state of Jamaican football.
However, I think greater care needs to be taken to approach younger players (same age group
requirements as above) in order to integrate them as early as possible. I also do not believe a player should
be approached more than once as their commitment to the cause will be evident through the answer they
give on this first occasion.
Onward and Upward
Action must quickly be taken for us to rebound, and get Jamaican football on a coherent path towards
achieving its full potential. As the governing body responsible for football in Jamaica, the JFF has five
specific purposes which it must realize and work assiduously to execute:
1. Strategic planning for the sport
2. Promoting the sport
3. Overseeing rules and regulations of the sport
4. Increasing participation in the sport
5. Developing talent in the sport
If these roles are executed, then Jamaican football will move to much firmer footing. However, this will
require extensive collaboration with other stakeholders and the outright definition of a goal such as I have
stated above: perpetual top 4 status within the CONCACAF region, which will make Jamaica a safe bet to
secure qualification for each World Cup after 2022.
The remaining articles of this series will aim to put in perspective some of the systemic deficiencies which
have resulted in Jamaican football’s current predicament. In these articles I will produce strategic
suggestions on steps I believe should be taken to improve the product of Jamaican football in a sustained
and economically viable way, laying out options worth exploring as we work toward the long term goal.




Part 2: Creating a suitable Performance Development Pathway

Achievement of the long term goal stated in part 1 will require developing a wide cross section of
home grown talent, in more professional environments, with greater levels of support.
The JFF must play a greater role in developing players directly, from the ground up. At present,
there is an over- reliance on clubs and schools to develop players in a convoluted and
uncomplimentary framework. There needs to be uniformity in the environments provided and
standards kept for playing the sport of football in Jamaica, especially at the early stages of
development. This means well- regulated and efficiently operated school and club structures that
complement each other.

Long Term Athlete Development
The pathway developed must consider the holistic development of the player and I believe the
Long Term Athlete Development Model should be utilized in order to shape this pathway. This was
introduced in 1998 by Dr. Ivan Balyi as a framework for the optimal training, competition and
recovery schedule for each stage of athletic development. The model was developed as a guidance
tool for elite athletic development. Research indicated that it took eight to twelve years of training
for talent to reach elite levels, referred to as the 10,000- hour rule.
The model takes into account physiological and psychological development of children and details
five progressive stages of exposure to a sport while specifying the focus for each stage. The model,
and its subsequent adaptations for sport, takes care to emphasize the development of players
technically, physically, psychologically and socially at each stage of the journey. These are shown in
the following table:

The Long Term Athlete Development Model
Stage 1
FUNdamental

Ages 6-10 years old

• Play for FUN
• Emphasizes overall development of physical
capacities
• ABCs (agility, balance, coordination, speed)
• Multiple sports- no specialization
• Revolves around the school year and multi-sport
camps during holidays
• Builds athletic skills for life

Stage 2
Training to train
Males 10-14 years old
Females 10-13 years old
• Learn to train- schedules weighted towards
training over competition
• Learn skills of a specific sport- introduced to
tactics
• Begin to learn about warm up, cool down,
stretching, hydration, nutrition, mental
preparation
• Covers sensitive period of physical and skills
development
• Athletes who miss this period will not reach full
potential

Stage 3
Training to compete
Males 14-18 years old
Females 13-17 years old

• 50% of training on developing technical and
tactical skills and building fitness
• 50% of training on competition specific training
and competition

• Fitness, recovery and psychological preparation
individually tailored

Stage 4
Training to win
Males 18 and older
Females 17 and older

• All physical, mental, technical, tactical and
ancillary capacities fully established
• Focus on optimizing performance
• Training to peak for competition- periodization

Stage 5
Retirement/ Retraining Stage

• When athletes exit the competitive section of
their careers and become involved in other
aspects of sports

The Early Years
The primary athletic focus at the early stage should be the development and mastery of general
movement skills, with focus placed on building and improving ball skills and spatial awareness
through the use of small sided games. In order to improve the development of footballers in Jamaica
I propose the following steps be taken:
➢ Small sided games as the general rule for players under the age of 13, with this training and
competition done in school environments. This should be as follows:
o U-7 & U-8: 5v5
o U-9 & U-10: 6v6
o U-11 & U-12: 7v7
o U-13: 9v9 and 11v11
➢ Futsal as an alternative form of the sport should also be encouraged competitively through
amateur clubs and overseen by Parish FA’s.
➢ Short seasons would be ideal for players at these ages in accordance with recommendations
from the LTAD Model.
➢ The adoption of specific modules for coaching at this level of the game is to be further
explored in Part 4 of this series.
The Teenage Years
An emphasis on achieving technical perfection and growing tactical understanding is key during
the teenage years, however, the disjointed nature of the Jamaican football structure during that
period is a monumental hindrance to producing footballers that can compete consistently on the
international stage. In order to rectify this situation it is imperative that the JFF increases its level of
involvement in regulating and organizing football during this critical stage of development. This
will mean greater collaboration with ISSA and all the sponsors currently involved in the various levels
of high school and club football.
The adoption of a tiered high school system, in which select schools are designated as football
academies, and compete in a season from September to April is necessary. This has benefits for all
current stakeholders in schoolboy football, including those schools who are not chosen to take part
in this particular system. A more detailed outline of suggestions and reasoning for this new system
will be found in Part 3 of this series.
Better support systems
In addition to the adoption of a suitable version of the LTAD or another model for player
development, efforts should be made to provide players on the elite track during their teenage years
with additional support such as the following:
➢ Nutritional advice- in collaboration with experts in the field

➢ Applicable sports science and performance analysis information- in conjunction with the
appropriate departments at the island’s universities and other experts
➢ Sport specific strength and conditioning training- in collaboration with experts in the field
➢ Sports psychology and mental training- in collaboration with experts in the field
The provision of these auxiliary development contributors is important in order to expose future
international caliber football players learning the game in the Jamaican system to a similar level of
support as those in more advanced footballing nations. These are important aspects to consider in
the total development of football players in order to ensure well rounded footballers.
Coaches, players and administrators in Jamaica also lag behind other countries in the use of
technological tools such as video and performance analysis to supplement preparation and
understanding of the game. The technological advancements in sport performance and fitness
measurement over the past five years have been exceptional. The gaps between our football
development and that of other countries will continue to grow if they are able to adopt and
implement these changes in their own programmes while we continue to ignore them.
For maximum effect, changes will also need to be implemented in the post high school transition
period. This is a weakness in the current system that causes many promising young footballers to fall
by the wayside. My suggestions for an alternative format for the high school system (Part 3) will play
a role in clarifying this stage of player development but further detail will be provided in the section
of this series regarding changes at the senior league level of Jamaican football (Part 6).


Part 3: Changing Schoolboy Football

That Jamaica’s biggest football product is played at the high school level and not at the senior level,
where players should be impacting the senior men’s national team and attracting contracts abroad,
presents a very warped view of our product. This is how deeply embedded the tradition of
schoolboy football is within the Jamaican football culture. It is imperative that we realize that this
current format of a three to four- month season, involving over 100 schools, is unsuitable to
achieving the goal of making Jamaica a top 4 side in the region.

In the top football countries across the world, academies attached to clubs have been the way to
develop talent. The presence of the schoolboy football system makes such a solution practically
impossible in Jamaica, however I believe that we can and should adapt the structure to fit our own
context, with the JFF taking a lead role in pushing these changes. I will use the remainder of this
article to lay out a suitable alternative system.

A Change of Format

Firstly, schoolboy football must transform to a U-18 competition instead of the U-19 age limit it
currently has. These older players should be competing at the U-21 and senior levels, rather than
against 16, and sometimes 15, year olds in order to continue their development. Secondly, a tiered
system should be introduced with a selection of 16-20 schools across the island designated as
academies with stringent regulation of their capacity as institutions participating in football
development. This elite league would run for 8 months at the U-18 and U-16 age groups.
Currently, the season runs from September to early December and in 2015 there were 116 schools
taking part (38 urban area, 78 rural area). So many teams, competing within such a short time
frame, meant that 68 of the teams played a maximum of 10 games in a period of just over a month
(first round). Statistically, over 50% of the country’s U-19 footballers were in competition for a
woefully short period of time. The players whose schools did advance also suffer from fixture
congestion and other issues that do not help proper player development because of the short time
frame for the competitions.

The presence of an elite league would allow 400-500 teenage players (25 man squads) to develop
their games in one environment, with one coach, for an extended period of time. In addition, games
should be played on the best surfaces available in Jamaica to ensure the quality of play on show, as
has been done with the recent introduction of the Lime Super Cup. There would also be provisions
for allowing the auxiliary support services mentioned in part 2, with ample time for strength
training, psychological support etc.

The remaining schools would continue the September to December schedule of play with a few
adjustments as well in order to benefit the participants. The competitions should be formatted to
allow each team 10-12 games over a longer period of time (three months, as opposed to the current
one month), allowing for increased training time which will help these players to develop. This may
mean cutting the number of teams allowed to take part in schoolboy football, or further
stratification into a Division 1 and Division 2 scenario based on a compilation of results over a five-
year period.

If players in schools with the unchanged season calendar are interested in continuing to play football
throughout the rest of the school year, they will have opportunities to do so by joining their nearest
U-21 club team (to be further explored in Part 6) to train and compete from January to April/May.
While this will not keep them in the same environment for the entire year, it will allow them to play
up a level and compete with older players in another more structured environment than is currently
the case as parish club leagues usually last two to three months presently.
Stakeholder Benefits
I believe this new format would benefit a range of stakeholders as follows:
➢ Players- will have ample time for training with most weeks only requiring teams to play one
game. The less compressed time period would also benefit the student athletes in the
classroom as they will not miss as much class time and will have ample time to complete
homework assignments etc.
➢ Coaches- will have more opportunity to impart their tactical vision of the game upon their
charges, allowing them to better execute in game scenarios and better preparing players for
matriculation to the senior league and into national teams.
➢ Fans- similar to the Lime Super Cup, the new Elite League format would ensure that the
highest quality teams play against each other on a regular basis, creating exciting, close
games between well supported teams.
➢ Organisers- for the Elite League, with 8-10 games per week for 30+ weeks consisting of
quality teams with large fan bases playing on quality surfaces, the value of the schoolboy
football product would rise. Organisers (primarily ISSA and the JFF) would be able to benefit
financially, attracting increased sponsorship as well as a steady stream of gate receipts
which could possibly surpass the income generated by schoolboy football in its current state.
➢ The JFF- this streamlined format now provides more clarity for the most important stage of
the player development pathway. It provides a competitive environment during the
absolutely crucial teenage years that is similar to those in more developed footballing
nations, providing a more solid base for age group national squads and eventually the senior
national team. The level of football education potential selectees are exposed to would be
higher.
➢ Clubs- would be freed from the burden of having to support youth teams, allowing them to
focus on maintaining only three teams (U-21, senior and women’s – to be explored in more
detail in part 6) with their resources.
In the name of development, we must be willing to sacrifice some things as we evolve the
structure of football in Jamaica to reap benefits for the future. This could mean the end of the
Manning, DaCosta, Ben Francis and Walker Cups as we know them, which are remnants of a
bygone era.
If the goal is truly to achieve consistent top 4 status within the CONCACAF region and a perpetual
place in the Hex round of World Cup qualifying, hard decisions must be taken to move with the
times and design structures that are better suited to achieving that goal.

Part 4: Improving Coach Education

Players can improve if they are given the right environments. The presence of well qualified coaches is extremely important in achieving the goal of consistent, quality player development. These Coaches must have the ability to pass on their knowledge to players in a constructive and easily understandable manner. While the JFF has made strides in the past seven years to improve the structure of coach education in Jamaica, there are still many steps that need to be taken. This continued forward movement is necessary in ensuring adequate player development to achieve the goal of a consistent presence in the top 4 of CONCACAF. Coach education is about providing leaders with all the necessary tools to effectively guide players. What coaches learn during each stage of the coach education ladder, in addition to how they are expected to deliver instruction to their charges, should be determined by the level of the player development pyramid where they coach. Essential to this process is a clearly defined player development pathway, as mentioned in part 2. Let us use Iceland as an example. The case of Iceland Iceland’s rise from mediocrity, to a quarterfinal berth at Euro 2016 (their first ever Euro appearance) is a story that begins in 2002 with the Federation’s approach to coach education. The country’s Technical Director worked to develop a UEFA approved coaching system, which was accepted in 2003 (UEFA B) and 2006 (UEFA A). Under the new KSI (Football Association of Iceland) regime, coaches had to successfully complete KS I to KS IV (as shown in the table below) to sit the UEFA B examination and then KS V, KS VI and KS VII to sit the UEFA A examination. This was accompanied by guidelines for involvement in youth football, which were built into the new club licensing regulations written by the KSI in 2005. These guidelines are as follows: First Team: Head Coach – minimum UEFA A License Asst. Coach – minimum UEFA B License Youth Team: Head of youth coaching/ youth development– minimum UEFA A License Youth team coaches 12 years and up – minimum UEFA B License 11 and under –minimum the first two courses of UEFA B License

Better equipped coaches = better equipped players Iceland’s changes ensured that the presence of a greater number of highly qualified coaches improved player output. The impact was both in terms of quality and quantity as there are now over 20,000 registered Icelandic football players with 90 playing professionally in mainland European leagues. The model worked- equipping quality coaches led to developing quality players. With this in mind, I make the following suggestions, which I hope will greatly enhance football in Jamaica: ➢ A thorough review of the current JFF level 1 and level 2 courses to determine levels of thoroughness in comparison to other federations across the world. The purpose being to improve the quality of these courses. ➢ Collaboration with other CFU and CONCACAF countries to develop a regional or confederation wide coach education qualification. Building a structure similar to Europe where country qualifications feed into achieving the confederations coaching licenses. ➢ Develop specific coaching courses for young footballers ensuring a firm focus on FUN and the fundamentals. ➢ Develop and implement goalkeeper specific coaching courses. ➢ Develop clear guidelines regarding coaching qualifications and the level of players that are coached in keeping with the player development pathway. This will ensure that players between the ages of 11 and 18 are receiving guidance from exceptionally qualified coaches i.e. the highest levels of the revamped coach education structure. ➢ Increased collaboration with high schools, GC Foster College, The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona and the University of Technology (UTECH) to involve more youngsters and females in coaching at an earlier age. ➢ Work with FIFA and CONCACAF to offer more courses in futsal and beach football in order to develop these versions of the game. ➢ Ensure all coaches are provided with training and knowledge in the following areas; sports nutrition, sports psychology, sports science, performance management and analysis, strength and conditioning. This will supplement their football knowledge and enable a greater impact on players through their holistic development of training regimens. Developing a Jamaican style The other pivotal area that requires exploration regarding coach education in Jamaica is the development of a ‘Jamaican’ style of play. Brazilians are equated with trickery and ball control, the Spanish with short passing, the English with more direct play, the Italians with a greater emphasis on tactical understanding. What distinct attributes do we have as Jamaicans that can be infused into the game of football to make it ours stylistically, taking advantages of our strengths and minimizing our weaknesses? This is something that can be assessed and implemented in the short term. When Belgium’s football leaders began the restructuring of their own football development frameworks in the early 2000s, they insisted on a key component. All clubs in the country were required to adopt the 4-3-3 formation throughout their youth structures. This was to be the formation used by all national teams. As you can imagine, it took some convincing for established clubs such as Anderlecht and Club Brugge to acquiesce to such demands but the rewards of the changes have been clear. In the past five years Belgium’s U-17 national team has qualified for three Euro U-17 Championships after only two qualifications in the preceding 10 years, including an automatic place as the host nation in 2007. The 2015 squad advanced to the semi-finals of this Championship tournament and took part in only its second World Cup at that age group, finishing 3rd in that tournament. The 2016 squad recently reached the quarterfinal stage of the Euro U-17 tournament where they were knocked out by Germany. Jamaica currently has a number of good, hungry young coaches involved across schoolboy football and at the age group national team levels. These coaches, who will be leading lights in the future development of Jamaican football, should be consulted in order to define a suitable Jamaican style of play that will serve as a guide for our football moving forward into this new era. Along with improvements in player development structures, league formats at junior and senior levels, coach education requirements and facility development, such a step would go a long way toward stabilizing Jamaican football as we seek the desired outcome of top 4 status within the CONCACAF region.

Part 5: Developing suitable playing facilities


All stakeholders in Jamaican football agree on the urgent need for better playing facilities at all levels
of the development structure. Better playing facilities are integral to ensuring that players
adequately develop the technical skills needed to succeed at football at high levels. This will require
collaboration between the JFF and its parish FAs along with Members of Parliament, local
Councilors, football clubs, schools and sponsors.

I propose two aspects that need to be focused on, which are linked even if they are targeted
separately. The first is improving the state of the playing surfaces. The second should be an
emphasis on increasing venues with adequate seating and changing room facilities which are
capable of hosting some of the island’s high profile games. This could make the island a more
attractive destination for preseason tours by professional teams in South and North America, which
is something that should be actively pursued. Additionally, it would increase the country’s capacity
to regularly host regional and other football tournaments.

The development of the island’s playing surfaces and facilities would also facilitate the requirements
of the new player development pathway. This would come through the provision of small sided
pitches and futsal facilities for use especially by the younger age groups beginning to learn the game.
To this end, I offer the following suggestions aimed at addressing an issue that has been a constant
source of frustration for fans, coaches, players and investors in the sport:
➢ Conduct a field audit- the JFF should maintain a database containing information such as the
size, location and maintenance responsibility of all the football pitches in the country. This
information would show usage and assist in determining priorities for improvement.
➢ Develop a comprehensive long term field maintenance plan to guide the care of the
country’s playing surfaces, especially at much used and well developed facilities. This should
be developed in collaboration with experienced, established turf management experts such
as those at Sabina Park and landscaping companies as well as parish FA’s and clubs.
➢ Explore the feasibility of developing at least 2 artificial surfaces within the country.
➢ Provision of appropriately sized pitches for small sided football across the country- 5v5, 6v6,
7v7, 9v9.
➢ Provision of a range of facilities suitable for futsal in order to promote the growth and
development of this version of the sport. Indoor venues could be sought in collaboration
with other sport federations such as the Jamaica Basketball Association (JABA), Netball
Jamaica (NJ) and the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JAVA). This will pool resources from
across the range of sport and benefits all.
➢ Provision of a number of appropriate beach football venues which can be used by local
residents and can also serve as an important part of football’s sports tourism attraction.
➢ Collaboration with other national sport federations such as the Jamaica Rugby Association
(JRA) and Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF) regarding the field audit and funding
procurement for field maintenance. Again, the benefit of cost sharing and the efficient
management of resources is the end product.
➢ The development of a comprehensive stadia development plan. This plan should be pursued
in collaboration with Red Stripe Premier League clubs as well as operators of venues such as
the Prison Oval, Wembley Centre of Excellence, Treasure Beach Sports Park, etc. in order to
raise the level of stadia available across the island. A target of at least one well outfitted 4-
5000 capacity stadium per parish should be the goal.

The Lime Super Cup’s introduction to the schoolboy football calendar, and the use of reasonably
high quality playing surfaces in this competition, has shown the difference that play on a good
surface makes. There is a clear difference in the quality of passing and control on display in this
tournament compared to the regular season Manning & DaCosta Cup games played on subpar
surfaces. This is an important aspect influencing the development of footballers in Jamaica.
It is therefore important that stakeholders in the sport work to ensure improvement in this area,
from the grassroots to the elite level. When the quality of play is raised because of the presence of
suitable playing fields, the value of Jamaica’s football products at the high school and senior
league levels will also rise. The added benefit is the attraction of more fans and viewers as well as
more investors. A clear, systematic approach needs to be taken by the JFF to improve this situation
in the near future as we move forward to the achievement of the stated goals, both short and long
term.

[Sir X]

Part 6: A more streamlined senior league structure

In part 2 and 3 of this series I suggested changes to the player development pathway in Jamaican
football from the early stages of learning the game through to the high school level. The adoption of a
more streamlined structure during the primary/ prep and high school years are, in my view, key factors
in moving Jamaican football to a more competitive and sustainable level. However, keen attention must
also be paid to the graduation of the players into senior level football. It is at this stage of their
development that players will be seeking to make an impact on the national team and international
stage after being given the technical and tactical foundations.

Jamaica needs a better football league structure at the senior level. This not only means the eventual
professionalization of the top league in the country, as has been mooted by the leadership of the JFF in
recent years, but also a streamlining of the system.

A new club system

Currently, there are too many clubs across Jamaica (over 540 according to the Jamaica Football
Database). Resources have been stretched as a result, including players, administrators, fans and
money. In turn it has devalued the Jamaican football product at senior level. Consequently, the Parish
FA’s are overseeing more leagues and teams than they should be, and are capable of, given the limited
resources they have at their disposal. I believe Jamaica would benefit from a senior club system like the
following:

There are a number of factors to be considered in this proposed new league structure. Firstly, the
delivery of a Professional Franchise League will only come about if Jamaican football sees a rise in value.
I believe this rise in value hinges significantly on the progress made in the areas mentioned in the
previous articles of the series- a more efficient player development pathway that better prepares
players, a better coach education structure that churns out high level coaches with the added benefit of

Professional
Franchise League:
12- 16 teams

2nd tier national league:

16-20 teams

Confederation leagues: 12 teams each a core back room staff in areas such as performance analysis, sports science, etc at clubs seeking to gain
admittance, and better developed facilities. It is the advances in these areas that will spur the
investment required for the sustainability of this professional league.

Even if there is some delay in implementing the professional franchise system in its fullest form due to
the inability to attract the necessary investment within the next two to three years, the JFF should move
towards restructuring Jamaica’s football similar to the above.

Secondly, once the professional franchise league is in place there would only be promotion and
relegation between the Confederation leagues and second tier national league. These teams would not
be eligible to join the top tier, however, players would be free to move between clubs at all tiers as long
as their services are required.

An U-21 League
I also believe it must be mandatory for all clubs, or at the very least those involved in the top two tiers,

to have U-21 and Women’s teams. The U-21 male teams would serve to bridge the gap between the U-
18 schoolboy football level and the senior level, while providing playing opportunities from January to

May for those U-18 schoolboys who are not involved in the Elite League at that age group.
This is the crucial transition period in which a large amount of the country’s promising football talents
become lost and that is a situation that cannot be allowed to continue. With approximately 36 teams
the league format here could have many options, including two divisions with promotion and relegation
or division into geographic zones. A minimum of 30 games should be the standard number of fixtures for
this age group.

Bettering Women’s football

The presence of Women’s teams would also be a boon to the Women’s game in the country. The last
few years have shown the amazing growth potential for this subsection of the sport and I believe
Jamaica has the passion and talent to become a regional power in this version of the game as well. This
growth will be aided by the emphasis on small sided games at the early stages of development, which
will allow coaches at the primary/ prep school level to find more girls willing to take part in the sport (it
will be easier to find 7 girls to make a 5-a-side team than it is to find 16 to make an 11-a-side team).
Resource management

Thirdly, with a new maximum of 84 teams across the entire structure the resources available to these
teams now grows exponentially. This will be a decisive factor in the sustainability of these clubs across
the island as they will have a wider base of players, fans and sponsorship money to draw from. The
financial viability of the clubs within this structure would also be assisted by the new schoolboy football
system, which would eliminate the need for most, if not all clubs, to have youth teams which need to be
supported.

If demand requires in some areas, such as the more populous St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew, a
parish league may be formed at a completely amateur level. Such a league would be solely
administrated and supported by its respective Parish FA, though still adhere to the rules and regulations
set out by the JFF, and these teams would also be ineligible for promotion up the ladder.
I firmly believe these suggestions for a restructured senior league format as well as the implementation
of U-21 and women’s leagues in Jamaica would improve the long term sustainability of the Jamaican
football product. Though it may cut the number of opportunities for players, the reality is that many of
the players taking part in Parish Division 2 leagues in the current structure are only taking part for the
fun of competition and also have other options available such as Business House Leagues and
community ‘corner’ leagues to take part in. The above suggestions are solely concerned with improving
the competitive environment in Jamaican football at the highest levels in order to achieve the stated
aim of being a top 4 CONCACAF nation.

[Sir X]

Things have changed so it can be tweaked/ updated in fact we are working on it.

[OJ]

Who do you expected to read this.

[Sir X]

Not you, you have proven your comprehension level and credibility is not of a required standard. Simple presentations are conflated and interpeted for your personal agenda to dismiss and claim as your own, between you and Sass you need to have your egos and heads examined. The contradictions and misinterpreations are psychotic. There is no other way of saying it, you two reason at a "Tappa" level.

People cower and cringe when you post out of fear of the unhinged contradictory points and positions.

[Bricktop]

christ...here we go again...somebody pass lil X's medication...

[Bricktop]

Who do you expected to read this.

[Sir X]

How can I forget your partner in cognitive dissonance, Mr Almshouse, The facebook spier, the implied tinder gay seeker, the deportee, the hater of "the blacks" , the reggaeboyz hater. Brick to your rescuse !

[OJ]

Not you, you have proven your comprehension level and credibility is not of a required standard. Simple presentations are conflated and interpeted for your personal agenda to dismiss and claim as your own, between you and Sass you need to have your egos and heads examined. The contradictions and misinterpreations are psychotic. There is no other way of saying it, you two reason at a "Tappa" level.

People cower and cringe when you post out of fear of the unhinged contradictory points and positions.

Wait are you ok, seriously bredren you good!! Tell you what read it and summarize the 5 main points. I have the people work to do cant read that volume now or ever... What Sass do you he did not comment how you just have belly fi di man suh....

[Sir X]

If you cant comprehend just say so, reading isnt your issue. We all get off from work,so when you are done, tell us what you summarize . We await with trepidation.

[OJ]

What would bawada cat say “ dat nah huh happen.

[Sir X]

That was what I implied