The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), through a top functionary, is claiming that its spend of over $30 million on the last cycle of the men’s Under-17 programme was money “well spent”.

Raymond Grant, the general secretary, while admitting that the sum may not have been comparatively sufficient, it was vital injection into key areas as the Young Boyz prepared for the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship staged in Panama City recently.“From where I sit I am confident that the $30-plus million spent on the unit was well spent… the truth is there were several requests from the coaching staff and we were able to cover most of those requests and the key areas covered are those mentioned by the coaching staff.“I am not aware that we would have spent money in areas that were not critical and key to the advancement of the team to at least get to the CONCACAF stage, but you will have these debates whenever we exit a qualifying tournament, but had we qualified the debates of where the money was spent would not be a factor at this time,” Grant explained.“You would have seen for example the first time that we placed about 95 per cent of the squad into a residency programme lasting for three months leading up to the tournament to ensure the players could get the necessary training and guidance for a more sustained period,” he went on.The Young Boyz were eliminated at the group stage of the continental qualifying tournament after suffering crippling losses to the USA (0-5) and Mexico (1-5). The Jamaicans were able to defeat El Salvador 3-1 to finish third in the group.Mexico went on to win the tournament by beating the USA on 5-4 on penalties after playing to a 1-1 scoreline in regular time. Both, along with Costa Rica and Honduras, have secured their places in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India later this year.The JFF’s chief administrator believes as a governing body it did its best to live up to its core responsibility considering its limited finances.“As a federation there is no regret in spending towards the development of the players. The reality is that we have invested some $30 million into this campaign, and while it was a massive ask of the federation, as a responsible organisation we gave the team all the support that we could based on the confines of our realities,” Grant told the

Jamaica Observer.The JFF general secretary noted that while Jamaica cannot compare to teams like the USA and Mexico in terms of resources and infrastructure, it is a level worth aspiring to.“The truth is we cannot compare ourselves to Mexico and the USA financially and otherwise. The fact is it takes cash to care, it takes matching finances to run a programme similar to the USA and Mexico.“When you look at the cost associated with playing a friendly game of our Under-17 overseas, it can run you in the region of J$6 million, so let say we had played our six internationals overseas you are looking at $36 million… it is far cheaper to host the countries in Jamaica,” Grant explained.While the USA had over 30 international matches in preparation for the CONCACAF tournament, Jamaica had only six, all at home, and did not have the benefit of overseas exposure for the players.“I take the point that it’s important to get that international experience, but to run a proper campaign similar to what the USA have done that could run you anywhere between $70 million and $100 million Jamaican. Is the federation in a position to carry those costs at this time? My answer is no.“But one thing we are committed to as a federation and as part of our responsibility is to ensure that we give the youths the best possible opportunity in exposing their talent and to qualify for respective tournaments and we will not fail in doing,” Grant said.Before the first ball was kicked at the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, the Jamaicans’ fate seemed sealed in the group of death with mighty USA and Mexico.Grant, while expressing disappointment that the team was not able to progress to India 2017, conceded that advancing to the final round was going to be a gigantic task.“Naturally as a federation when you exit a World Cup campaign it brings a level of disappointment. But while we are disappointed, I can’t say we are not overly surprised as once you are drawn in a group with the USA and Mexico it was always going to be a an uphill task,” he reasoned.Grant said a post-mortem of the failed campaign is underway and the JFF board of directors are awaiting the outcome to determine the best way forward.“It’s the policy of the federation to continue to review all of our programmes, especially during and at the end of any qualifying tournament.“The Under-17s’ exit from the World Cup qualifiers will be no different as there will be a series of consultations and review as it relates to the programme and assessment will be made and recommendations will be forthcoming from the technical committee, and at the appropriate time, decisions will be made,” Grant ended.