VETERAN football administrator Carvel Stewart and sport publicist Carole Beckford have taken the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) administration to task for their role in the impasse between the Reggae Girlz and interim Head Coach Vin Blaine.

Both weighed in on the issue which came to light about a week ago, as the Reggae Girlz submitted a letter to JFF requesting Blaine’s removal.

The two-page letter, signed by 20 players, cited among other things a lack of confidence in the technical acumen and leadership style of Blaine and his assistants, which the players find to run counter to what is required to take them to the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.

It is understood that the top brass of the country’s football governing body is expected to meet with Blaine today with a view to planning the way forward.

This, for Stewart — who is a long-time football associate of Blaine since his days at Harbour View Football Club — is where the root of the issue lies. He believes the JFF has failed to handle the situation with grace.

“I think I have to be fulsome in terms of the process and so on and — nothing to do with whether it was Vin or anybody else — but the way it was handled by the JFF is inadequate. I don’t have all the facts but I gather a meeting was held…whether after the letter was sent to the JFF, to discuss the matter.

“Normally, good management requires that if you get a note like that, you have a word with whoever sent the note, and also have a word with whoever the note is about, and then you call an immediate emergency session with all parties and sit down and listen to them,” Stewart told the Jamaica Observer.

He continued: “Because they [the players] are saying that they’re asking you to make a decision based on some allegation that they’re making, and you have not spoken to either party in respect to what the real issue is, and this thing blows up in the media. I just believe that nothing should have been blown up as yet until their was consultation between the parties involved.

“That would also assist you [the JFF] in your own deliberation to make a decision, which you were asked to make. Because you could have said, ‘There is no decision to make, so we continue on as we are.’ Or you can say, ‘I’ve listened to you, and it will appear that whatever situation, the coach is so bad and poor [that] I have to go with the recommendation or the demand.’ I haven’t heard any of that so I find it unsatisfactory.”

For Stewart, the situation in which Blaine alleged that the Girlz were being influenced by outside forces and, by extension, the manner in which it was handled, reflects negatively on the national programme and those in charge as it gives the impression that the players are now in charge.

The Girlz in their letter also stated that they were struggling to make a pledge going forward, some seven weeks before the final round of the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Mexico.

“It is going to have an effect, one way or the other. If the JFF removes a coach purely because players are dissatisfied, then when are you going to be able to reign in players when they say they don’t want a coach?

“It would give that impression and people will say that the players fired the coach, and that will happen. As to whether or not they have lost control, you have to ask yourself, ‘Did they have control? And if not, who had control?’ And they must be honest about it,” Stewart ssaid.

Given his experience as a football administrator, Stewart is of the opinion that not all players would have agreed with the decision to remove Blaine, who was reappointed in December following the suspension of Hubert Busby who is under investigation by Fifa for allegations of sexual misconduct in a previous coaching role.

“In any unit of people, not everybody agrees that something is wrong with whomever something is wrong with. But there are those who won’t say anything and there are those who just signed the document based on what was said to them and how it was said to them,” he opined.

“I think it is going to have an impact on their preparation and so on because it is going to be unsettling for some and some may feel good about it, because a number of the allegations are not true and some of the things that they haven’t said are true in terms of his own preparation and communication with them and so on. So, it’s really a messy situation,” lamented Stewart.

That the Girlz could potentially bring a coach back who was initially a part of the programme and someone they are more comfortable with, Stewart believes could have a positive or a negative result at the July 4-18 tournament.

Jamaica are drawn in Group A alongside world champions United States and host nation Mexico, with Caribbean neighbours Haiti also in the mix.

Prior to the development, Blaine had indicated plans for two camps ahead of the tournament. However, these could possibly be thrown out the window.

“It could go well for them and it may not go well, but I don’t want to predict those things. What I know is that it was already difficult anyway, based on the group we are in, and people need to be realistic. We have to be having our psychological preparation as well as the physical preparation,” Stewart explained.

“Right now you [as a player] should be focusing and concentrating on trying to win every time. Even when you are playing for your club in Europe, your focus should be on ‘How I am performing to make sure that when I get back to play for Jamaica I can deliver the same quality?’ Instead of concentrating on getting rid of a coach,” Stewart reasoned.

Carole Beckford is of the view that the Reggae Girlz deserve to have the best technical team to lead their efforts, as they are a major sport asset for Jamaica at this time.

This as the team also criticised Blaine’s lack of communication and lack of professionalism, including the absence of daily schedules and absence of staff without explanation.

The players also slammed the staff’s tactical preparation and the absence of specific preparation before matches.

Based on this, it would mean that the players have had to play games without any game plan, being forced to solely rely on their talent.

“JFF needs to be decisive and clear about its focus on maximising the team’s potential. Petty squabbles have no place in an elite [national] team,” said Beckford.

“JFF has to prioritise the women’s programme ahead of World Cup 2023. Take decisive actions to support the goal of getting to the World Cup. I would not want the programme to be derailed at this point.

“Any intervention that will have the team perform at its best must be made. That said, the players have a role to play on and off the field and they have to be reminded — this is a national programme,” she added.

Efforts to contact JFF President Michael Ricketts and General Secretary Dalton Wint for comment were unsuccessful.