Dear Editor,

The country has been put on high alert that another chapter in its football history will commence later this week when the reins of the national football programme will be placed in the hands of an overseas coach.

I, as I am sure many well-thinking Jamaican football-loving fans do, want to wish him every success in his stewardship.

I would like to also use this opportunity to dispel two myths that have been making the rounds for some time now. The first of these is that female fans are not into sports as much as their male counterparts. This is absolute garbage. What may have misled the proponents of that position is that Jamaican female fans are more cerebral and far less rabid than the males. One only needs to listen to them speak on the topic of Lionel Messi to see what I mean. For those positing that view I would ask them if the fact that they do not actually see Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce training means that she trains any less hard than Usain Bolt did when he was at the top of his game.

The other myth thriving in Jamaica is that the national coach should be involved in the development of the country’s football product. Another monumental piece of nonsense. This is like some time ago when the banks were dabbling in farming instead of sticking to their core business. I cringe each time I hear one particularly loud radio personality repeatedly make this claim. He does not seem to understand that repeating a falsehood a thousand times does not make it miraculously become true. One of his “things” was that Tappa should have had this young baller, and that other young baller, in and around the team being groomed and getting experience. The business of developing young ballers is for the clubs and academies at home and abroad. The job of the national coach is to win matches with the best team he can assemble on the day, full stop.

I would also like to say kudos to everyone involved in the decision to omit Andre Blake from the line-up for the next Jamaica international friendly. In the game of football there are intangibles involved that are just as important as skill. Mere technical ability does not guarantee victory as fans of Argentina and Messi have proven time and time again. Furthermore, if Christiano Ronaldo, who is arguably one of the greatest players in the era of modern football, can watch the game from the bench, who is Andre Blake?

Corretta Burgess

correttaburgess@yahoo.com