JFF has little room for error

Saturday, October 29, 2011

THE management committee of the Jamaica Football Federation, led by its acting president Mr Dale Spencer, stuck to the core business of the management of the federation during Sunday's meeting, instead of engaging in the emotional, yet serious issue of the fate of the sanctioned Captain Horace Burrell.

For as Mr Spencer told this newspaper, he "made it clear to the management members that the board of directors has no legal basis to challenge the presidency".

He added: "The management committee went there strictly to deal with the business of management... the agenda was to report on current JFF activities, report on JFF finances, so that (the future of Mr Burrell) was never an agenda item for us."

For those who may have missed it, Captain Burrell was slapped with a six-month ban (three months suspended for two years) by the FIFA Ethics Committee two weeks ago for his alleged role in a bribery case involving former FIFA presidential candidate Mr Mohamed bin Hammam. FIFA has refused to identify any specific breach.

We had also used this space to suggest that the ban had the potential to seriously hamstring Jamaica's football, especially at this time when the senior men's team is preparing to compete for one of three-and-a-half places from the CONCACAF region for the 2014 Brazil World Cup Finals.

So, for us, it was particularly pleasing to see Mr Spencer and his management committee reserving the side issues for the delegates, while focusing on the execution of the day-to-day operations of the JFF.

General Secretary Mr Horace Reid, who was also slapped with a warning by the FIFA Ethics Committee in the same case, had stated that it would require US$8.5 million (approximately J$700 million) to execute the JFF's ambitious plan to get the senior Reggae Boyz to Brazil for the World Cup Finals.

This sum will be raised through a range of avenues -- including corporate sponsorship, government grants, gate receipts, broadcast rights, match fees and merchandising.

Mr Reid noted that revenues would go directly into underwriting the costs associated with the entire campaign, and broke down the expenditures to cover air travel, hotel accommodation, nutrition, salaries, incentives, training camps, uniforms, equipment, utilities and other related expenses.

This is indeed an ambitious plan that requires fixity of purpose. As such, Mr Spencer and his team have little room for error and no time to spare.

A FIFA window will appear in mid-November, and Mr Spencer and his team need to provide the Reggae Boyz with at least one friendly international to continue their preparation.

It would enable head coach Mr Theodore Whitmore and his technical team to continue their examination of overseas-born players, as the search for additional talent intensifies.

In the last FIFA window, three UK-born players were given opportunities to establish their credentials in a game against Honduras in that Central American country.

There have been no rave reviews for these players, which though highly premature at this stage, would still suggest that they were less than outstanding.

With Jamaica set to kick-start their qualifying campaign next June, perhaps Mr Whitmore, his technical staff and the technical committee of the JFF need to raise the bar and invite foreign-born players with better CVs and those parading their skills in higher leagues.

Perhaps it is even time to re-invite players such as Messrs Ricardo Gardner, Marlon King, Damion Stewart and Claude Davis. Whomever Mr Whitmore and crew invite to the squad, it is important to get them integrated as soon as possible, so that the Boyz can hit the ground running next June.

Nothing else will suffice.

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JFF has little room for error