Dear Editor,
As I sit here watching the final match of the Reggae Boyz’s campaign for Russia 2018, I find myself looking beyond the plethora of empty seats within the National Stadium into a future replete with the promise of 2022.
This future, though rich in the substance of hope, no doubt evokes a kind of deja vu and sentimentality among Jamaicans, as we see yet another World Cup campaign wither and die before our very eyes, with only pride to play for it seems — as if it was never at stake before.
Football watchers and aficionados will tell you that we have been at this intersection before. While it would be unreasonable to expect our island nation to qualify for every one of football’s showpiece event, it is not unreasonable to expect a better showing from all those who sit at the big table which is Jamaica’s football, be they players or administrators.
It goes without saying that the quality of football played in the region has improved leaps and bounds since 1998. This is so because the administration of the beautiful game took a turn for the better in most of the region, where our competitors reside, and as such we cannot rest on our laurels or harp on nostalgia.
If 2022 is to take a different course from 2018, or 2014, then plans and programmes must once and for all be devised and enacted so as to ensure that our quality of football improves. We must seek to build nurseries for youth football, bridges which link schoolboy football to national teams and leagues and, of course, infrastructure which evokes dignity and professionalism. These are just a few suggestions. We must truly improve the local game, as in this day and age all teams have overseas-based players.
The Captain has had a long and winding stay at the helm of the Jamaica Football Federation, but with another episode of failure, maybe the first step in improving the quality of administration is to ask whether or not he is still relevant.
Noel Matherson
noelmatherson@gmail.com
As I sit here watching the final match of the Reggae Boyz’s campaign for Russia 2018, I find myself looking beyond the plethora of empty seats within the National Stadium into a future replete with the promise of 2022.
This future, though rich in the substance of hope, no doubt evokes a kind of deja vu and sentimentality among Jamaicans, as we see yet another World Cup campaign wither and die before our very eyes, with only pride to play for it seems — as if it was never at stake before.
Football watchers and aficionados will tell you that we have been at this intersection before. While it would be unreasonable to expect our island nation to qualify for every one of football’s showpiece event, it is not unreasonable to expect a better showing from all those who sit at the big table which is Jamaica’s football, be they players or administrators.
It goes without saying that the quality of football played in the region has improved leaps and bounds since 1998. This is so because the administration of the beautiful game took a turn for the better in most of the region, where our competitors reside, and as such we cannot rest on our laurels or harp on nostalgia.
If 2022 is to take a different course from 2018, or 2014, then plans and programmes must once and for all be devised and enacted so as to ensure that our quality of football improves. We must seek to build nurseries for youth football, bridges which link schoolboy football to national teams and leagues and, of course, infrastructure which evokes dignity and professionalism. These are just a few suggestions. We must truly improve the local game, as in this day and age all teams have overseas-based players.
The Captain has had a long and winding stay at the helm of the Jamaica Football Federation, but with another episode of failure, maybe the first step in improving the quality of administration is to ask whether or not he is still relevant.
Noel Matherson
noelmatherson@gmail.com