“Talk fests must now give way to action fests.”

That was the charge from Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda, who argued that Jamaica’s approach to sport development must shift from conversation to execution, with greater investment and innovation in the sector.

His call for greater investment and innovation came as he addressed stakeholders at the recent launch of the 2026 Pan-American Men’s Lacrosse Association (PALA) Qualifiers.

Set for August 13-16, the championship will see Jamaica hosting 13 of the region’s top teams, including world number one, the United States, and second-ranked Canada.

Other participating nations include Argentina, Colombia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Haudenosaunee, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The tournament will also serve as a qualifier for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in Japan.

Matches are scheduled to be played at The Mico University College and Stadium East, with the former partnering with the Jamaica Lacrosse Association (JLA) to stage the event — an alliance Samuda described as a model for sport development in the country.

“This partnership has gone beyond the field of play and tutorial rooms and is engaging us in a conversation on the infrastructure of sport, not primarily the physical facilities, but the human capital of sport,” Samuda said.

Samuda said that while facilities are important, sustainable progress in sport must begin with people — those who conceptualise, design and ultimately drive development.

“Before the facility is built, the mind has to vision, conceive and construct it,” Samuda said.

Samuda said the current collaboration has created a “blueprint” for transforming lacrosse into a viable sporting asset. He also underscored the importance of capital investment, warning that without proper infrastructure, athletes’ ambitions will remain stunted.

“Before you put gas in a vehicle, you have to build it. Capital investment is the cornerstone of sport development,” Samuda said.

Beyond infrastructure, Samuda highlighted the growing commercial value of sport, describing it as a “multi-billion [-dollar] commercial enterprise” intertwined with entertainment and tourism. He urged sporting bodies to position themselves to benefit from revenue streams such as broadcasting rights, sponsorship, merchandising and digital platforms.

“So we have to get with the programme. Our foreign policy at the JOA encourages member associations to create currency for their sport by hosting regional and international events,” Samuda said.

The JOA president also used the platform to caution against superficial partnerships, stressing that agreements must produce measurable outcomes.

“MOUs and partnership agreements have become part of the narrative without being real metrics of progress. You have the opportunity to reset the dial of sport development,” Samuda said.

Central to that reset, Samuda said, is the integration of education and sport — an approach embodied in the partnership with Mico, as he noted that student-athletes must be equipped for life beyond competition.

“We seem, in Jamaica, to be placing greater emphasis on packing subjects into satiated brains of our youth rather than unpacking their minds and enlightening their intellects to think logically, expansively and strategically in becoming creators, inventors, innovators and transformational citizens. We must guard against the body of our sportsmen and women becoming an economic unit and a commercial mobile wallet in sport,” Samuda said.

Finally, Samuda pointed to ongoing efforts by the JOA and Jamaica Paralympic Association to expand Jamaica’s sporting footprint, including plans for an Olympic commercial centre and a proposed High Performance Training and Competition Centre of Excellence for parasports.