OMAR Daley, the retired Jamaica midfielder, believes the Reggae Boyz brand can once again appeal to fans and sponsors.

But for that to happen, the Clarendon native thinks it will require a collaborative effort involving stakeholders at varying levels of the sport, corporate Jamaica, fans, and importantly, the Government.

Daley, 39, argued that the governing Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), with the best of intentions, will fail if it attempts to go the course without sound financial backing and a firmly rooted and broad-based programme.

“I know the JFF is going through a transition period right now as they try to get back the Reggae Boyz status where people are excited once again to see the Boyz play…I think it’s going to take some time to get back to that level, but at the same time I am not seeing any new and exciting sponsorship of the programme,” the former Bradford City regular told the Jamaica Observer from his base in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I think a collective effort is needed involving the JFF, fans, corporate Jamaica, the players, and government. At this point I know that the transition is tough, but I do see small progress as they have done well in the Fifa rankings of late. But while the transition is coming slowly but surely, you know that Jamaican people want it right now,” Daley added.

Daley, whose professional career was nurtured during his time with local champions Portmore United, said he has a sense that the Reggae Boyz brand has lost its allure of yesteryear.

“I remember back in the day when I played, they [corporate Jamaica] would have a lot of promotions around the team where they have even given away cars. I just think that now everybody has taken a step back from the national team and we can’t just point fingers at the JFF and say they are not doing a good job,” he noted.

Government, Daley reasoned, will be key in a revival of the national programme, and urged the country through its Ministry of Sport and relevant State-run agencies to take a lead role as the Boyz look to upcoming qualifications for the Fifa World Cup of Qatar 2022.

“I think if the Government decides to give the programme some support, for example financing and helping to make the Reggae Boyz a tourist brand again, plus the corporate support with our iconic brands, then that will be a big boost.

“So Government and sponsors, and more so the Government, need to take the lead and make the national programme great again,” Daley stated.

The former Motherwell player, who was deployed as a midfielder or winger in the height of his career, says senior head coach and former Boyz teammate Theodore Whitmore is maturing as a coach, but believes the pressure could be mounting on him to deliver another World Cup qualification.

Jamaica’s only qualification for the men’s senior World Cup came in the 1998 edition of the global showpiece held in France.

Since then expectations have been high for a repeat, and there is a feeling that with a reformed qualification process to be introduced by Concacaf, the possibilities are promising.

“I believe he [Whitmore] has done a wonderful job over the last couple of years, and this may be his last shot to qualify the team for the World Cup, with the next one being Qatar 2022, so he knows in his head that he has a big job to do right now,” said Daley.

“My advice to him as a friend and former teammate is to blend some English-born talent with the local-bred talent…be on their phones, be annoying if you have to, but you must get them to come,” he urged.

Daley, who also had a stint with US Major League outfit Charleston Battery, said Whitmore can achieve the goal of World Cup qualification but will need every ounce of support he can get.

“He will need every bit of help right now to build up his status as a coach because he has to deliver something, he has to deliver World Cup qualification…but he needs support.

“I believe if he gets that, he will get the job done. I know he has made mistakes because then he was a young coach, but now he must have a better understanding of the job and it is now time for him to deliver,” Daley asserted.

The Glenmuir High alumnus, who is now a coach of grass roots talent in the USA and who runs his own academy, had a gentle suggestion for his former Boyz teammate.

“He [Whitmore] needs to call a 35-man squad…get team bonding going. He must find players outside with Jamaican roots as we need a mixture. We need that mixture of local and overseas-born players because those players will bring good pedigree and fight, and I believe the coach will agree with that one,” Daley shared.

He said that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted the programmes of many national teams worldwide but the key is how these nations keep the physical and technical aspects breathing, which will determine their readiness, not if, but when normality returns.

Jamaica, Daley says, must be quick out of the blocks when global sports gets the all-clear if they are to be competitive from the get-go.

“I know that COVID-19 has set back a lot of national teams, but I guarantee you that other teams are putting things in place and soon things will open up and games will be played, so don’t wait until the last minute to go looking for players.

“Now is the time you can look for players and get that blend. We need to also get some local camps going and get local players playing; and now that the Premier League is off, that has made it worse, so we need to get a plan going as we can’t afford to wait for the last minute.

“With that said, I personally believe we have a good chance [to qualify for the World Cup] if we start the planning now,” said Daley.

At the moment Daley is committed to the nurturing of young talents in Jamaica and in the Nevada area of the US, but will keep his options open if other opportunities in coaching emerge.

“One day in the future I would like to come home and work with youth soccer, not really with the senior team, but targeting those players who are seeking to go to college or play professionally overseas. I think that’s where I am majoring myself right now – to motivate kids, to tell them my story, which is real. And that’s what I’m doing right now in Las Vegas.

“I am here in the US helping kids go to college, then I would love to come back home to do the same for Jamaican kids. And that’s why I started [an operation] in Jamaica, which is run by myself and Carl Wiggan in Clarendon, where we have over 70 kids before COVID-19 hit, and that is something I am looking to start back up as soon as the coronavirus is over,” Daley concluded.

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