JFF expects National Stadium to be ready for Nations League contests
THE Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is confident that the playing surface at National Stadium will be ready for the Reggae Boyz’ Concacaf Nations League games against Honduras and Haiti on Friday and Tuesday, respectively.
The JFF did an inspection of the field on Friday and found that there are issues with its condition after two events hosted at the venue last month — the Independence Day Grand Gala celebration on August 6 and R&B artiste Chris Brown’s concert on August 27.
JFF General Secretary Dennis Chung says he expected wear and tear on the surface from the concert, which had the stage and a portion of the audience situated on the field.
“It had some brown patches and was uneven, which was expected after a concert like that,” Chung told the Jamaica Observer after their follow-up visit on Monday.
“But when we went out there, they were rolling it again; the grass was growing up again.
“We were just at the National Stadium today. It is not 100 per cent but it is much improved over what we saw Friday, and they’re working on it. It looks like it will be in good condition for the match on Friday.”
Chung says that with the game taking place on Friday, and training a day before, it allows venue operators Independence Park Limited enough time to get the surface up to speed for the team’s use.
“They’re working on it three or four times a day, fertilising it — those guys know what they’re doing,” he said.
“They were working on it individually, too, in terms of fixing the patches that needed to be fixed. Myself and Vice-President Anderson were out there and we were pretty satisfied with the progress. We’re going to keep monitoring it.
“They always bring it back, though, and it’s looking reasonable so we think it will be good for the game on Friday.”
The Observer sought a response from Independence Park, operators of the National Stadium, but was told that no official with clearance to speak on the issue was available for comment.
The Reggae Boyz will play League A of the Nations League from Group B, which is completed by Cuba, Suriname, and Grenada.
The game against Honduras is to start at 8:00 pm and the Haiti match is to kick off at 7:00 pm.
