BALTIMORE, Maryland — The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) says it does not close the door on any player, and should Alvas Powell harbour any hopes of wearing the shirt of his country again he would have to make the first move.

Powell, the Portland Timbers defender, on Wednesday decided that he would not leave Toronto with his teammates to fly here for the Reggae Boyz’ CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match against Haiti on Saturday.

The player, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Saturday, decided to turn his back on his country after he claimed he was frustrated with his limited playing time in the current set-up.

 “The federation has a policy where it doesn’t close the door on anyone. When all is said and done and when he looks into himself he may realise that his decision as a professional player was wrong.

 “He now has a role to play to reach out to us and seek a reprieve and then naturally we would have a look at it and then decide on the way forward,” JFF general secretary Raymond Grant told OBSERVER ONLINE on Friday.

“The JFF is not in the business of penalising players for their decisions, what we are there for is to work with the players to ensure their development and to work with them to make sure that the best team is on the pitch to the benefit of the country,” he continued.

The football administrator said he was very disappointed in Powell’s decision as he was a player that the federation had invested heavily in and one considered for the future.

“I consider the decision of Alvas Powell as being very unfortunate as he is regarded as one of our bright prospects, and one of the players we are looking forward to help carry the programme into the future,” said Grant.

Sean Williams