WE note with interest the dispute between local football clubs and the United States Major League Soccer (MLS) regarding monetary claims for the drafting of Jamaican players from colleges in the United States.

It seems that local clubs believe they should be compensated when players whose formative years were spent under their guidance are drafted. In the latest case, Portmore United are of the view that they are owed US$7,500 for their role in the early development of Mr Sergio Campbell, who was drafted recently. We are told that the MLS disagrees.

It’s well established that world football’s governing body FIFA does make allowance for clubs to be compensated for the early preparation of players. Also, it’s no secret that Jamaican football clubs are heavily dependent on fees for the transfer of players overseas and for monetary compensation such as is being claimed here.

However, for the most part, Jamaican clubs have kept details of such earnings close to their chest and away from the public eye.

We note that the highly respected general manager of Harbour View FC, Mr Clyde Jureidini, has added his voice. “… in principle, Portmore United is correct. All the local clubs should be paid a training compensation,” says Mr Jureidini.

According to him, “the training club legally should get compensation; that’s a standard requirement, but the MLS has a different criteria, and doesn’t pay, and doesn’t want to discuss those sorts of compensations”.

More than most, Mr Jureidini is very qualified to speak on these issues. Even with the limited information available, it seems reasonable to suppose that Harbour View FC — perhaps Jamaica’s most professionally run football club — have benefited immensely from the export of local talent.

Readers will recall Harbour View’s sale of a teenaged Mr Ricardo Gardner to Bolton FC of England for £1 million in the late 1990s as a breakthrough development and a high water mark for modern Jamaican football. Of course, in Mr Gardner’s case it was a straightforward and purely business arrangement between two clubs.

The current situation appears to be cloudier.

More to the point, this newspaper is well aware that there is never one side to a story.

We need to hear from the local administrators of football, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), as well as the regional bodies, Caribbean Football Union and the CONCACAF.

Crucially, the MLS need to speak. Why, and what, is this “different criteria” that they are bringing to bear to deny what Jamaican club leaders are describing as a basic and just principle?