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(This is the second of a series of articles from the Jamaica Football Federation. Next we look at Coaching Realities in Jamaica)

The focus of the nation over the last few weeks on the Senior National Men’s team necessitated a holding back of the promise to do a feature on the team.

This was a conscious decision because it allows us to look at the very complex issues surrounding the senior team with the distinct advantage of recent actual play and performance in varying circumstances……… at home and away, in conditions of a tournament as against friendly internationals, with all local based players on one hand and with the ‘foreign legion’, so named by the media, combined with the local based players in another.

This presented a good combination of circumstances to do a realistic review with real life play as the guide as opposed to speculation.

These set of circumstances combined with our knowledge as to what had taken place with this Senior team over the last two years, i.e. winning the Caribbean Cup in 2005, fairly good results against teams like Guatemala and then playing games against better opposition, USA (draw) England, (loss), Ghana (loss) should, I stress should, allow for a more objective analysis.

Over the last fortnight we have seen the team win two of the three Digicel Caribbean Cup matches with a team comprised totally of our locally born, grown and exposed talent but not doing well enough to move forward to the next round. A similar situation existed with the away loss to Canada, with a slight variation in that the team there had a sprinkling of overseas players.

Then we saw the victory over Canada at home with an initial starting eleven dominated by overseas based players.

(On a side note I found it interesting, to hear the analyst on the radio commentary, when asked his opinion of the leading players for Jamaica in the home match against Canada, indicated Demar Phillips of Waterhouse, Jermaine Hue and Richard McCallum. So here we have at least from one person, a view that has two thirds of the outstanding players to be locally based even though this in no way reflects their percentage in the starting eleven).

Isn’t that interesting? But football is so much a team sport that there is no doubt of an all-round influence on each other. Fuller’s inspiration as captain was noticeable for example and we all saw the critical contribution of others.

So what are the central issues emerging from these recent matches? And how do these impact on the immediate way forward?

This article is not at all intended to be exhaustive on this issue.

The Federation will be holding a Retreat around the ‘Back to Africa’ campaign and no doubt in that session many other issues will be raised. In keeping with the President’s expressed intention to make both the planning and execution of the process inclusionary, the invited persons to the Retreat will be drawn from the Board of Directors, (JFF), Premier League Clubs, sponsors, the media, marketing executives, state agencies, the medical profession, representatives of the Diaspora. The Retreat will be conducted by one of the leading business development companies in the country.

The first issue is the real challenge of having a select group of locally based players who are in continuous training. This must be one of the fundamentals of the way going forward. This we can readily agree on.

Putting this in place under the new proposed coach will no doubt be advantageous as he will immediately be able to see what is available and direct their growth.

Let us not ignore the fact however that this process was started. Under this administration it began with Coach Downswell’s efforts around the Digicel Caribbean Cup in 2004. This competition would have indicated more clearly the best of the emerging talent to be kept together. This was one of the strategies of the past that worked well.

However, as the programme developed and the talent was exposed scouts inevitably intervened. The best of the emerging talent were ‘scouted’ off.

Luton Shelton Celebrating Jamaica's opening goal in the Canada Jamaica friendly at the national stadium

Shelton did well in the 2005 Gold Cup and was off. He in fact had been under some scrutiny by scouts for some time. Stephenson eventually moved from the US to the Swedish League. Hue, a little older but still with Harbour View, got his call and so did defender Stewart; Bennett and Robert Scarlett were also called.

These opportunities are welcomed and will always be an objective of any forward thinking administration.

The Federation’s response cannot be to see it as an interruption, but must be to work around these opportunities to get the best for the national programme.

Importantly, the judgment of whether it will result in a positive contribution to the national programme is still a ‘work in progress’ since the results involving these players have been inconsistent. But surely at the minimum it is an indication of the development of football in the country.

Although some of us may not agree, football development is not only measured in terms of a country’s qualification for World Cup , but must be also judged on the opportunities it gives to its best talent to use their God given talent to develop as all-round human beings, earn income and contribute to their families and communities.

The policy of keeping thirty players in continuous training, however, takes significant resources. Think about it. Weekly camps; a very sound nutrition programme; transportation costs to move around the island; international camps; physical and mental strengthening programmes for a squad, all this does demand very serious financial commitment.

But at the same time what this policy affords is greater selection options for both tournaments and international friendlies and it further allows for players who do not show the required commitment to be replaced.

Jamaica’s football programme is more dynamic, competitive and complex than in the 1995 -‘98 era. Frequent references to the ‘blueprint’ needs to recognise this. It is a matter of using the best of the past, to build on but not being stuck in the mould of the past.

Back then, the policy outlined above was more straightforward. Scouting was no where a factor it is now. It would have been easier. For example, striker Walter Boyd was the only overseas based (local) player.

As we look and plan forward, this continuous training programme would be central to the process of preparation for both the 2010 World Cup but also for the Under 23’ preparation for the Olympics in 2008.

The Federation is very conscious that alongside what has been outlined above for the senior team; focus also needs to intensify on our local structures and youth competitions to ensure that critical developmental transition process. We feel this has started well.

Of particular importance is the upgrading of local coaches through conscious training programmes. This is fundamental to the quality of those thirty or so players that the national coach will have to work with. The players being chosen for this programme must have some tactical awareness, ability to play as a team as well as skill by the time they are handed to the National Coach.

Jamaican football lovers need to accept that a combination of paying for an overseas coach, keeping this squad in place and ensuring support for the youth programmes all concurrently is extremely demanding financially. Together this is a multi million dollar investment.

The Federation plans to pursue the ‘adopt a player’ approach as a key component for success. The approach will be to have the players on ‘retainer contracts’ and in keeping with what has been happening recently, replenishing where necessary.

In the end, if all that is needed is unavailable, then we still have to resort to patience and ensure that what is made available is channeled in the direction that will make the biggest impact.

Speaking of patience, it was indeed humbling that at the end of the game against Canada at the Stadium, the team walked around the field and collectively raised their hands and clapped the spectators. This against the booing they received last week. This gave me goose pimples.

In the interim let us use these most recent experiences to identify the deficiencies and by extension those areas for focus.

The fact is that we have rich experience to decide the future but little time to live in the past.

Submitted by: Janice Rose-Brown
Marketing Manager -Jamaica Football Federation