Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell believes the current crop of National Under-17 footballers who competed at the FIFA World Cup in Mexico are talented enough to become “a force to be reckoned with” in the not too distant future.

Speaking at a welcoming reception for the Young Reggae Boyz at the JFF headquarters last week Tuesday, Burrell expressed pleasure at the performance of the team, but added that proper infrastructure needs to be put in place to encourage further development.

“Given a little more support than they are already getting, I think they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Many persons have said they have never seen that level of tactical awareness that they saw from the Under-17 players. I have requested the technical committee, through the technical director (Walter Gama), to devise a programme that will be announced shortly and it will be a wonderful nursery from where we will net our new crop of players.

“It is going to be very expensive and already we have started thinking about that. We are taking it seriously and certainly we hope that everybody in Jamaica, the government, private sector, and all the well-wishers will work with us as far as that is concerned,” he said.

The Jamaicans were recently eliminated after finishing bottom of the four-team first-round group with one point, behind surprise winners Japan (seven points), France (five) and Argentina (three). The team lost 0-1 to Japan, 1-2 to Argentina and drew 1-1 with France.

They became the first Jamaica team to score at the Under-17 Championships and are also the first to garner a point at that level.

Jamaica previously qualified for the Under-17 World Cup in 1999 in New Zealand and also participated in the Under-20 edition in Argentina two years later.

Said Burrell: “I’m proud of the team and many people were also surprised because prior to the tournament and seeing the group some thought we’d have lost heavily. Can you imagine a Jamaica team drawing with France, a world power? That should tell you the level of talent we have here and I’m going to pursue every avenue to get the support for them

“The JFF has taken a lot of criticism in the past for failing to keep youngsters together. We have learnt and they (the critics) were right. We will not allow these players to go astray,” said the local football boss.

Head coach of the Under-17s, Wendell Downswell, also weighed in on the administration’s plans to design a programme to benefit the youngsters.

“We need to keep this crop of players and give them the opportunity to transition to the Under-20s. We want them to develop as a unit because there is already a solid foundation. If you look at the Under-17s in 1999 and the Under-20s in 2001, I can only think of Omar Daley and Shavar Thomas who are in the current senior squad,” he said.

He also lauded the discipline exhibited by the players and added that more international exposure would have given the team a stronger platform heading into the Championships.

“I must commend the youngsters for the high level of discipline that they displayed. They displayed a good level of maturity. I believe that these youngsters, if they had gotten six to eight international games prior to the competition, it could have put us in good stead. I think the major setback came when we did not get the opportunity to go to Spain (for a pre-tournament training camp at Valencia CF),” Downswell said.