A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and Football Federation Australia (FFA) at Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston last Monday.

In essence, the FFA will provide support to the ministry and the JFF for CONCACAF and other JFF-related projects in Jamaica from funds made available by the Australian government for sports development programmes in the Caribbean.

In 2009, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, the Australian government had announced its commitment to development programmes in the Caribbean particularly through sports.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had stated that the Australian government recognised sports “as a vehicle to achieve important social development objectives, especially where young people are involved”.

Those signing the MOU were the Minister of Sports Olivia Grange, JFF president Captain Horace Burrell, and head of international affairs at the FFA John Boultbee.

The signing coincided with the visit of FIFA president Jospeh ‘Sepp’ Blatter to Jamaica for the inauguration of the JFF Technical Centre at the UWI Bowl of Excellence.

The MOU details the technical and socio-political co-operation in sports between Jamaica and Australia, and in particular between the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the JFF and their respective Australian counterparts.

“I am very pleased with this MOU between my ministry and the JFF on one side and Football Federation Australia… its provisions mean significant assistance to enhance Government’s sports development programmes and it provides support for the JFF’s programme for football development in Jamaica,” said Grange.

General secretary of the JFF, Horace Reid, said the MOU “will assist greatly in facilitating and accelerating the development of our football infrastructure”.

The Australian government has indicated it will be spending some sixty-million Australian dollars for such programmes throughout the Caribbean.

Negotiations leading up to the signing of the MOU were initiated by senior strategy advisor to Australia’s FIFA 2022 World Cup bid and the FFA Peter Hargitay, and were facilitated by Grange and Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry, who is also president of the Humble Lion Football Club in Clarendon.

(From left) JFF president Captain Horace Burrell, Minister of Sports Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange and head of international affairs at the FFA John Boultbee sign documents to formalise the MOU, while strategy advisor to the FFA Peter Hargitay watches.