Tweet
Sport and the people's money
Published: Sunday | December 5, 2010 Comments 0
Jamaica Football Federation president, Captain Horace Burrell.
Tony Becca, ON THE BOUNDARY
In 1994, Horace Burrell, the president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), attended a meeting of the National Sports Council at Jamaica House. He implored the gathering to financially support the efforts of the footballers to go to the World Cup finals of 1998, and at the end of his presentation, when the prime minister asked us what we thought, all of us, almost to a man, said no way. The feeling was that it would be a waste of money. The consensus was that the footballers did not possess the required standard of play or the necessary behaviour to make it to the World Cup.
The PM, Honourable P.J. Patterson, then proceeded to talk to us. He spoke for about 10 minutes. He talked to us about sport and the people, told us about the hopes and dreams of poor people, and then he asked us if we were willing to stand by and do nothing, and by doing so, rob these poor boys of their dreams.
He asked us again what we thought about helping the footballers, and we said yes - all of us.
The country spent, and sent, and spent, it paid a coach a king's ransom, it asked the other sport associations to tighten their belts while the country concentrated on football, and everything else stopped.
Jamaica made it to the World Cup finals, and the country was ecstatic.
That was 1998, and today Jamaica is no different. It is still the same poor country trying to do what others are doing.
Jamaicans, those in sport, want Jamaica to spend what Jamaica does not have on sport, they want Jamaica to spend what America spends on sports, what other countries spend on sports, and that just does not seem right.
Although sport is sport, and should be the same everywhere, Jamaica and America are two different countries, at least in size and money.
Except when one is investing, to spend what you do not have on anything is foolish, and unless, or until, Jamaica start investing in sport, it is foolish to spend so much money in sport at the expense of the necessities of the society.
For years now, Jamaicans have been talking about investing in sport, about sport and tourism and what have you. Since the Beijing Olympics and the Berlin World Championships, the talk has become more pronounced but, like so many things Jamaicans, it is all talk.
Nothing has happened, and until something happens, until Jamaica starts to make money from sport, Jamaica cannot justify, to its army of poor Jamaicans, spending so much money on sport.
Jamaicans are talented, many of them, and there is no doubt about that.
Jamaica, however, cannot afford to develop that talent and neglect the rest of the country, the vast majority of its people, people who are poor and suffering from lack of education, health, food, housing, roads, security etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
What good does it do Jamaica if a few people win gold medals, a team wins a football championship, a team wins a netball tournament, or a cricket team wins a tournament and more than half the people are suffering.
Every time a team is going away the cry is that they have no money and the Jamaican people are asked to support them, and every time Jamaica wins some thing, somebody in the government, whichever government, gets up and promise all kinds of things.
structured system
What is even worse is to hear a government representative saying every time a Jamaican, who chooses to live elsewhere, who lives fairly well, who is enjoying a sport foreign to Jamaica and which is expensive to play, does something reasonably well that the country is behind him or her, that it will do everything possible to support him or her, and asking the Sports Development Foundation to get involved, to organise a structured system to assist him or her.
Obviously, it means that that the country will spend poor people's money to support his or her pastime.
Recently, the nation's footballers told the football federation, on the eve of a match, that they would not lace up their boots until they were paid a total per diem of US$1,200 (up from US$300), and unless they were offered 80 per cent (up from 50 per cent) of the prize money if they won the tournament.
They also refused to train on the day preceding the match.
According to the players, the protest was not about the money but it was one based on principle.
no player is indispensable
The protest, according to the players, was "on behalf of those who previously represented the nation and ended up with not much to show for it, and the younger local players who are perhaps badly in need of the income".
The president of the federation, Horace Burrell, met with the players before the start of the match, paid them the added amount of money, out of his own pocket, so it is said, and said that he did it because he did not want the country to be embarrassed.
Burrell's gesture may have been good on the day, and it may have saved Jamaica some embarrassment. By paying up, however, he bowed to a stick-up, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will happen again, and again, and again.
The players should have known of the financial situation of the JFF, they should have known what the JFF can afford, and they should have decided to play or not to play from the start.
None of them, not one of them, is indispensable.
Apart from the fact that 80 per cent of the prize money is outrageous, apart from the fact that JFF has other responsibilities to fund, it is always bad business to pay what you do not have, and to go and to behave in that way before a game is unforgivable.
It was nothing more than blackmail.
It would be interesting to know what the footballers did with the added money.
Did they hand over any of it to the past players who were short-changed years ago? Did they hand it over to the younger players who are so badly in need of it? Or did they simply stick it in their pockets?
Published: Sunday | December 5, 2010 Comments 0
Jamaica Football Federation president, Captain Horace Burrell.
Tony Becca, ON THE BOUNDARY
In 1994, Horace Burrell, the president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), attended a meeting of the National Sports Council at Jamaica House. He implored the gathering to financially support the efforts of the footballers to go to the World Cup finals of 1998, and at the end of his presentation, when the prime minister asked us what we thought, all of us, almost to a man, said no way. The feeling was that it would be a waste of money. The consensus was that the footballers did not possess the required standard of play or the necessary behaviour to make it to the World Cup.
The PM, Honourable P.J. Patterson, then proceeded to talk to us. He spoke for about 10 minutes. He talked to us about sport and the people, told us about the hopes and dreams of poor people, and then he asked us if we were willing to stand by and do nothing, and by doing so, rob these poor boys of their dreams.
He asked us again what we thought about helping the footballers, and we said yes - all of us.
The country spent, and sent, and spent, it paid a coach a king's ransom, it asked the other sport associations to tighten their belts while the country concentrated on football, and everything else stopped.
Jamaica made it to the World Cup finals, and the country was ecstatic.
That was 1998, and today Jamaica is no different. It is still the same poor country trying to do what others are doing.
Jamaicans, those in sport, want Jamaica to spend what Jamaica does not have on sport, they want Jamaica to spend what America spends on sports, what other countries spend on sports, and that just does not seem right.
Although sport is sport, and should be the same everywhere, Jamaica and America are two different countries, at least in size and money.
Except when one is investing, to spend what you do not have on anything is foolish, and unless, or until, Jamaica start investing in sport, it is foolish to spend so much money in sport at the expense of the necessities of the society.
For years now, Jamaicans have been talking about investing in sport, about sport and tourism and what have you. Since the Beijing Olympics and the Berlin World Championships, the talk has become more pronounced but, like so many things Jamaicans, it is all talk.
Nothing has happened, and until something happens, until Jamaica starts to make money from sport, Jamaica cannot justify, to its army of poor Jamaicans, spending so much money on sport.
Jamaicans are talented, many of them, and there is no doubt about that.
Jamaica, however, cannot afford to develop that talent and neglect the rest of the country, the vast majority of its people, people who are poor and suffering from lack of education, health, food, housing, roads, security etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
What good does it do Jamaica if a few people win gold medals, a team wins a football championship, a team wins a netball tournament, or a cricket team wins a tournament and more than half the people are suffering.
Every time a team is going away the cry is that they have no money and the Jamaican people are asked to support them, and every time Jamaica wins some thing, somebody in the government, whichever government, gets up and promise all kinds of things.
structured system
What is even worse is to hear a government representative saying every time a Jamaican, who chooses to live elsewhere, who lives fairly well, who is enjoying a sport foreign to Jamaica and which is expensive to play, does something reasonably well that the country is behind him or her, that it will do everything possible to support him or her, and asking the Sports Development Foundation to get involved, to organise a structured system to assist him or her.
Obviously, it means that that the country will spend poor people's money to support his or her pastime.
Recently, the nation's footballers told the football federation, on the eve of a match, that they would not lace up their boots until they were paid a total per diem of US$1,200 (up from US$300), and unless they were offered 80 per cent (up from 50 per cent) of the prize money if they won the tournament.
They also refused to train on the day preceding the match.
According to the players, the protest was not about the money but it was one based on principle.
no player is indispensable
The protest, according to the players, was "on behalf of those who previously represented the nation and ended up with not much to show for it, and the younger local players who are perhaps badly in need of the income".
The president of the federation, Horace Burrell, met with the players before the start of the match, paid them the added amount of money, out of his own pocket, so it is said, and said that he did it because he did not want the country to be embarrassed.
Burrell's gesture may have been good on the day, and it may have saved Jamaica some embarrassment. By paying up, however, he bowed to a stick-up, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will happen again, and again, and again.
The players should have known of the financial situation of the JFF, they should have known what the JFF can afford, and they should have decided to play or not to play from the start.
None of them, not one of them, is indispensable.
Apart from the fact that 80 per cent of the prize money is outrageous, apart from the fact that JFF has other responsibilities to fund, it is always bad business to pay what you do not have, and to go and to behave in that way before a game is unforgivable.
It was nothing more than blackmail.
It would be interesting to know what the footballers did with the added money.
Did they hand over any of it to the past players who were short-changed years ago? Did they hand it over to the younger players who are so badly in need of it? Or did they simply stick it in their pockets?
Comment