Respected Jamaican football administrator Horace Reid may have ventured out since 2012 to answer what may be considered a higher calling.

His performance as general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has clearly not gone unnoticed. He has made the rounds in various capacities at the regional, confederation and global levels.

Among his appointments of the recent past, Reid has held the office of CONCACAF competitions director, an office responsible for organising and executing the competition angles of all confederation tournaments, including the marquee Gold Cup.

Then as CONCACAF recalibrated its governance and operational structures to bring them in line with President Victor Montagliani’s One CONCACAF vision, Reid’s value would not be overlooked.

He was just this year appointed CONCACAF’s director of Caribbean football, an office charged with driving the broad-based growth, development and competition agenda for the 31-member bloc.

Reid, 55, has embraced this new challenge and in his own words remains “fully committed” in leading the charge.

And even while he was obviously moved by the expressions of support and direct proddings for him to consider making himself available for the post of JFF president, the football executive had to turn down the offer — but never his back on Jamaica’s football.

And though his current mandate covers a wider spread, his heart is planted in the soil of his native home.

“It’s impossible for me to completely separate myself from Jamaica’s football. It made me who I am. I have always made myself available whenever consulted and by whomever.

“I see myself as a servant of the sport and have always been open and transparent with my counsel to anyone who needs regardless. I want Jamaica to continue to excel, but I want the same for football across our confederation,” Reid told the Jamaica Observer recently.

And for the full-time successor to the visionary, the late Captain Horace Burrell, the former JFF general secretary encourages a global perspective as a catalyst for change.

“Jamaica cannot exist in a vacuum. For it to grow and attain full potential, others must develop also. Respectfully, I want to use this opportunity to encourage whoever the president is, to follow the steps of Captain and look beyond just the Caribbean and to align with CONCACAF and One CONCACAF. Jamaica needs that world leadership,” Reid stated.

One of the architects of Jamaica’s historical France 1998 World Cup qualification, the football thinker has always kept his pulse on the nation’s programme, therefore crafting his own view on where its focus should be as it seeks to score on the development front.

“It’s time for a new focus with the emphasis on the grassroots… build from the ground up. This requires radical and fundamental changes to the status quo. It will take political will, endurance and tremendous faith.

“Jamaica’s instant success mentality will test resolve. This mission will not be for the faint-hearted [as] the critics will be out in numbers and force. However, it is the best way in my humble view for longevity in success at the international level,” Reid expressed.

He believes that those who will be charged with taking Jamaica’s football into a new era must have the benefit of radical, yet prudent thinking.

“Jamaica cannot afford to pursue a model of imports [as]the resources should be better spent on local development. The national teams must be the place for raising the country’s flag and provide exposure and not a vehicle for players to make a livelihood.

“That attitude needs to change. Earnings must primarily be through the clubs and it’s time for a well funded professional league supported with amenities of quality for the performers and the fans,” Reid reasoned.

Any action to revolutionise the growth and development processes, he argues, must be a collective matter of urgency.

“Both Government and corporate collaboration is required to achieve this. If we don’t do it now, we will be left further behind. Jamaica must develop proper and fewer clubs. We have too many teams.

“The CONCACAF Club Licensing platform is a good vehicle to achieve this goal. The competition structures are not producing sufficient quality and this requires overhauling,” Reid said.

From a governance standpoint, Reid has pin-pointed some areas that require fundamental changes.

“Football governance in the country requires radical overhaul at all levels. There needs to be a clear distinction between policy and operations — who is responsible for what and the systems of accountability.

“The question again is, is there a collective political will in Jamaica to make the shifts necessary? Our decisions today will have significant ramifications on our tomorrow. Focusing on what is right and not what is necessarily popular will be key to our growth engine being properly tuned to produce consistency in quality with longevity. We owe it to this generation and the next,” Reid concluded.