CATHERINE HALL, St James — Former national senior team vice-captain Hector Wright has blamed football administrators for the poor showing in football competitions by teams across western Jamaica.

According to Wright, who recently returned to the island after more than 10 years abroad, and who has taken over the football programme at his Alma Mater, Herbert Morrison Technical, those charged with running the football programmes are to be held responsible for the lack of progress made in the sport, since the days when he was at the forefront of the western domination of the sport at all levels in

the country.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer West during the recent staging of the CONCACAF Girls Under-17 finals at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, Wright pointed out that just before he left the island in 2001, he told a disciplinary committee meeting of the St James Football Association that the administrators were not doing enough for the game.

He cited the lack of proper development at the younger age group levels, noting is that it is one of the main areas where the game in the west needs to grow.

“We have many youth competitions, but we must not confuse this with development,” he argued. “In the past when we had more committed players, they could depend on these players to step up but this is not the case these days.”

He said although several youth competitions were being played, more emphasis must be placed on the people who are coaching at that level, “so that the young players can be taught the proper techniques at an early age”.

“When we see players coming into the Under 14 teams at the high school level, when they move to the next level it is almost the same player; we are not seeing enough improvement,” he stressed.

The situation, he added, is also reflected in national teams, noting that “when that national Under 15 and Under 17 teams faced teams from more developed football cultures, the gap is glaring”.

“We need instructors at the younger age groups at the parish level who can set the platform for the proper development of the young players,” he explained.

Wright played for Herbert Morrison Technical between 1984 and 1987, then assisted Violet Strikers in winning the St James Division Two before joining Seba United, where he distinguished himself as one of the best midfielders the country has ever seen.

He was part of the Seba United team that was one of the best and most feared teams in the island, as western clubs won all but two titles between the 1986-87 and 1996-97 seasons.

Additionally, in the 22 seasons between 1982 and 2003 schools from St James, Hanover and Westmoreland won 37 senior schoolboys’ football titles, 16 daCosta Cup titles, 13 Ben Francis Knockout titles and won or shared the Olivier Shield title eight times.

Wright, who was selected along with former teammate and present coach of William Knibb Memorial Garfield Anderson to spend a summer with a club in Finland while still in high school, is now in charge of all four teams at Herbert Morrison, the daCosta Cup, Under-14 and Under-16 and girls’ team.

He stressed that since his return to the island he has not seen much improvement in how the game is being administered in the western region, adding that the “inept administrators have contributed to the downfall of the game”.