With his colleague Lorne Donaldson renewing calls for comprehensive football development in Jamaica, former Reggae Girlz Head Coach Hue Menzies says he stands ready to play his part in formulating a sustainable strategy towards growth, if asked.

Menzies, who expressed passion about shaping the structure of the game on the island when he took the job as technical advisor of Jamaica’s Women’s football programmes in 2015, did so for the most part, leading the senior Reggae Girlz to a historic Fifa Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019.

However, despite vacating the post shortly after that accomplishment due to what he said was a lack of professionalism as well as disrespect shown by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Menzies always expressed an interest in making a return, provided Dalton Wint no longer held the general secretary post.

With Wint due to step aside, Menzies declared that he can be counted on to assist where possible.

“I always want to do that [help the Girlz programme], but the thing is people have to be receptive to it because there are times when people come in with a lot to offer but others ignore it and things then fall flat. So people have to be willing to invest money, and like Lorne said, time and energy, in the growth of the game.

“We are at a point now where football continues to change, and looking at where Jamaica’s football is, something different definitely needs to be done to add value to it and we need to be more relevant in how we do things,” Menzies told the Jamaica Observer.

Donaldson, in a recent interview with the Observer, argued that every Jamaican — home and abroad — and more importantly, corporate Jamaica, has some part to play in finding the winning formula.

Menzies agreed that it will require all hands on deck and a holistic approach to make it possible.

“It’s my country and I always want to do my part in assisting our football, but again people have to be receptive to what we bring to the table otherwise it makes no sense. There is no hiding in football; if you don’t know it you’re going to get exposed at some point. So at the end of the day we have to share the knowledge and spread the wealth to put the country’s football where it needs to be.

“So I’m always ready and willing to assist, especially if they need something like a coaching convention, because at the end of the day to develop football means you will need proper coaches,” the American-born tactician stated.

“I am on the black coaches’ committee up here, along with Lorne, and we always talk about coming back to the island to share our knowledge, and so on. So nothing has changed where that is concerned, but again the reception will be key. What we share has to be used and not just parked,” he added.

Like Donaldson, who was his assistant when the Reggae Girlz first qualified for the World Cup, Menzies also alluded to the lack of resources — funding in particular — which has hindered the growth of Jamaica’s football for years. Some have heavily scrutinised the country’s governing football body’s lack of vision and assertiveness, particularly in recent times, as a result.

“That certainly needs improvement, but I don’t want to get into that because I think the JFF has gotten to a point where they rely on other people to get things done, but they have to play their part as well,” said Menzies, who gave up a career in corporate finance to become a full-time football coach.

“I don’t know if they care about a vision because if they did they would at least try, but I don’t think they care and in fact they probably don’t even know what the vision is, but the aim should be football and development. If we want success, we’ve got to keep plugging and not let obstacles stop us from what we’re doing,” he noted.

That said, Menzies, who recently became the first black coach to lead a team in the United States National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) after his appointment to the New Jersey-based Gotham FC, pointed out that he will continue to do his part from behind the scenes.

“I don’t think we need to gauge football based on the national team we need to gauge football based on the leagues and get that sorted. Once we get that sorted the focus can shift to the grassroots to feed into that and then our football will be better. Until we get to that point where we are on the ground in the clubs and communities helping players, then nothing will happen so it will no doubt take a collaborative effort,” he said.

“I am still doing my part by sending uniforms and so on, and I am even preparing another batch to send to Jamaica, but nothing has come of it in terms of development.

“So I think coaching education has to happen because you can have the resources but you still have to know how to get the materials out. I like the fact that they are thinking of their own coaching licence course, like Trinidad did. They just need to make sure they encourage others to get involved in that,” Menzies ended.