Captain Horace Burrell departed Jamaica last Friday for the World Cup Finals in South Africa with a heavy heart.

Though he struggled to keep an expressionless face through this interview, his words confirmed his inner turmoil. The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) boss is “gravely disappointed” that the Reggae Boyz are not numbered among the teams set to grace the stage of football’s greatest show set to kick off on Friday, June 11.

And a quick flashback to the heady ride of the Boyz in France 1998, brought even greater pain for the visionary behind that unprecedented achievement of Jamaica’s football.

Burrell’s letdown was more stinging when he briefly compared the glorious success of 12 years prior and the lost opportunity of a Diaspora nation to “return to Africa” for a celebration of cultural and historical proportions.

“Truth be told, I am gravely disappointed that we are not going to be one of those teams playing in South Africa for many reasons. One, because of the relationship and the history between the countries, and also not being able to play on the greatest football stage in the country of Nelson Mandela in post-Apartheid South Africa,” lamented the former Jamaica Defence Force officer.

He said a Jamaican team playing on the grand stage of South Africa 2010 would be a fitting tribute also for those Jamaicans who played their part in the fight against the ghost of Apartheid, a political system violently enforced by South Africa’s minority whites that sought a separate development from the black majority.

“When one considers the role that people like Michael Manley, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh played in helping to dismantle the monster of Apartheid, it would have been a fitting tribute for us to have a team there,” noted Burrell, an executive member of CONCACAF.

Though it does not compensate for not having a team at the first-ever World Cup on continental Africa, Burrell believes that even in a small way history will recall that Jamaica played its part in the launch of the South Africa bid back in 2003 when the Boyz engaged the hosts in a friendly match in Cape Town.

“We have had the opportunity to be involved in a couple of events which have made us feel a part of the whole thing. Having been invited to play the opening game when the bid was officially being launched was a tremendous honour.

“Also we were invited to play South Africa’s Bafana Bafana (Boys Boys) in South Africa last November and again in Germany in April as part of their preparation as hosts, so we have played our part, though it may be comparatively small,” said the Jamaican, who also serves as senior vice-president of the regional umbrella group, the Caribbean Football Union.

Though Burrell tiptoed around taking direct aim in supporting the popular view that Jamaica’s failure in their last World Cup bid was due in the main to the questionable coaching tactics of the Brazilian Rene Simoes, he hinted that inconsistency in team selection could have ultimately snuffed out the Boyz’s chances.

“I am not going to blame any one individual. What I am going to say is that it was always our intention to have the strongest 11 on the field at all times during the qualification campaign, and I can tell you that wasn’t always the case,” said a diplomatic Burrell.

“And failure to do that, may have cost us a place in the World Cup, but going forward, that is one thing that we cannot allow to happen again,” Burrell added.

Already the campaign is on for Brazil 2014, noted the veteran football executive.

“In fact we have already commenced our preparations for 2014 in February when we played against Argentina. We are already on that road and I am looking forward to the end of this World Cup as the better world teams will be available for friendly internationals, therefore that will provide a better platform of preparation for our team in looking forward to the qualifiers,” Burrell beamed.

He also pointed to a new qualifying format for CONCACAF which is presently before FIFA for approval. The format will be fashioned off that of South America’s CONMEBOL where all the teams play each other in home-and-way fixtures.

“This will favour us because there will more matches, so if a team slips along the way, it will have time to recover and possibly qualify,” Burrell explained.

In CONCACAF’s case, instead of the final 12 teams being placed in three groups, there will only be a straight home-and-away play-off series, which means that each team would play 22 matches for the three automatic World Cup places.

Sadly, with no other official Jamaican representation at the World Cup, Burrell will fly the island’s flag in his roles as South Africa 2010 Ambassador and a member of FIFA’s powerful Disciplinary Committee.

Burrell, the only one of the 12 Ambassadors not born and living in Africa, said he viewed his appointment as a tribute to how the island nation of Jamaica is perceived outside of its tiny boundaries.

“First of all it is a tremendous honour to have been considered a World Cup Ambassador. I think I was selected on the basis that South Africa needed someone from the Diaspora, and having looked around, they figured that Jamaica which had been so instrumental in assisting the South Africans to overcome the bridle of Apartheid, would therefore be a good choice,” he noted.

In essence, the role of the Ambassadors was to promote the South African World Cup by selling the ideals of its potential benefits, not only to the rest of Africa, but the world.

“I had to explain the benefits and certainly to convince individuals right across the board of the benefits of the World Cup coming to Africa, and in the final analysis, the potential benefits coming to the continent is just out of this world,” outlined Burrell.

“And as I continue the role, I will now help to receive the thousands of people from all parts of the world and to share with them the passion of South Africa at various levels,” he added.

The other World Cup Ambassadors are South Africa’s Philemon Masinga, Mark Fish, Lucas Radebe, Jomo Sono, Abedi Pele (Ghana), Mustapha Hadji (Morocco), Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia), Hossam Hassan (Egypt), George Weah (Liberia), Emmanuel Maradas (Chad) and Roger Milla (Cameroon).

And under his hat as FIFA Disciplinary Committee member, Burrell anticipates the five-man arbitration headed by retired Swiss judge Marcel Mathier, to be busy throughout the month-long tournament as FIFA will be vigorously promoting fair play.

“It is going to be very busy because the FIFA will be concentrating on fair play and a number of offences will be seriously addressed throughout the tournament. For example, the pulling of an opponent’s shirt preventing him from going forward will attract a fine of US$5,000, therefore it can be expected that this committee will be very active in enforcing this and other rules.”

Burrell, who has witnessed many World Cup Finals, says South Africa 2010 is poised to be the greatest ever. “This World Cup, I think, will be one of the most exciting ones when one considers the culture of Africans and South Africans in particular, as you know they are pretty much like Jamaicans and like to celebrate in style. I don’t think the World Cup could be played in any other part of the world and you will have this excitement,” he said.

Burrell, who runs the Captain’s Bakery and Grill chain in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, will not predict a World Cup winner, but warned that the five African teams could be an eye opener.

“I am prepared to say it is going to be a very competitive World Cup, as I believe that the African teams are going to be at their best as they are playing in their natural environment,” he noted.

Being a CONCACAF executive, Burrell is confident that the confederation’s top teams — the USA and Mexico — could create a stir.

“Having looked at the USA’s performance at the Confederations Cup (lost to Brazil 2-3 in final) and based on their resilience and the basic football they play, I am looking to them to deliver something special,” he opined.

“Mexico will always be one of those competitive teams at the World Cup, and again they could spring a few surprises, but the third CONCACAF team, Honduras, lacks the experience, but yet again with the right motivation, they too could surprise,” Burrell ended.

Mexico will open the tournament against South Africa in Group A on Friday in Johannesburg, while the USA take on England in Rustenburg the following day in Group C. Honduras will bow into action on June 16 when they face Group H rivals Chile in Nelspruit.

South African dancers, Vuka Dance Production, put on a traditional African dance and song routine for the Reggae Boyz (background) on their arrival at their hotel in Bloemfontein, South Africa, for a friendly match against the host last November. The game ended 0-0. (Photo: Sean Williams)