- DARAINE LUTON PHOTO
Jamaica Football Federation president Crenston Boxhill (left) and general secretary Burchell Gibson at a recent JFF press conference.
Burchell Gibson, Contributor
EARLIER THIS month marked the first full year since I was officially handed the position of general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
For the nine months dating back to the victory that propelled my boss, Crenston Boxhill, to the presidency of the administration, I had served in an acting position.
As I write, we are effectively halfway through the first term of office.
I use "we" - indicative of my being a firm and committed member of the "team" in office. Secondly, I make no bones that we are desirous of vying for a consecutive term of office on the strengths of our present tenure plus the fact that the platform for development which was the hub of our manifesto, will definitely need continuity for it to change the long-term fortunes of the country's football.
At this stage, I feel very compelled to offer my thoughts on where we have reached on our rung of activities, as well as assess constructively, the general period of office.
The first year, November 2003 to a similar time in 2004, will be remembered most by the World Cup campaign. While at no time we stated or were keen to make it a benchmark for progress as an administration, we fell prey to the country's seeming unquenchable thirst to qualify for every World Cup.
We had to make a run at it, and in hindsight, we could have gone differently with the monies earned and spent on all aspects of the campaign. The federation fell in further bankruptcy just to aid the first group stage of the qualification campaign, as like everyone, all our hopes were hinged on making it to the final group stage.
We quickly realised that qualifying for a World Cup was one lofty dream that had to be "constructed", and was not always predicated on how Lady Luck smiled our way. So November 17, meant we would delay no further to go the developmental route.
It meant:
1. Transition programmes for the various youth teams;
2. Correcting the previous trends and sources of acquiring and paying senior players;
3. Revamping our technical team consistent with this "new" thinking, and arranging for this philosophy to resonate throughout our structures (parishes and confederations);
4. Kick-starting the FIFA Academy Project; and
5.Putting in place the requisite competitions (and calendar) that would outsource the overall talent drive.
In house, it also meant soul searching, as to who were really committed to the priorities at hand as they would require tightening the belt on whatever finance and sources that were available, as well as the temperament to glide through a new wave of criticism from the public, media, political rivals and detractors.
The Digicel Caribbean Cup was the first frontier to test this new resolve on development. A completely new team was selected comprising players from the Under-20 unit in training, a few who had done well in the local Premier League, and only three players from the failed World Cup campaign.
This move pre-empted a difficult period for us. While on field, the 'new' head coach and team got good results in the preliminary rounds of the Caribbean Cup, the large fan base from the World Cup campaign stayed away.
At the board level, previously masked grievances came wide open, prompting the emergence for the first time (at least to us) a clear split between those thought to have voted for Boxhill and previous president Captain Horace Burrell.
A clear political agenda of a planned return to power by the pro-Burrell faction simmered, reaching a hilt when the February Congress was positioned to decide a "vote of no confidence" in the Boxhill-led administration. This action never materialised but it remains a danger, given the overtures that crop up between board meetings.
In the approximate eight months since November 17, the federation has managed to inculcate in all the publics, that the direction we took was indeed right.
We have received public accolades. At the recent National Premier League Awards ceremony, both the president of the local Olympic Association, Mike Fennell, and Andrew Price, in his capacity as a representative of corporate giant Wray & Nephew, congratulated the federation for the bold move to utilise young, locally-groomed players as part of a development programme to rebuild the national senior team. We remain committed to this route and will not revert, regardless of expediencies that are likely to manifest themselves along the way.
Our reputation within CONCACAF would have been boosted by our recent Gold Cup performance. I dare suggest that it is the first tier of the CONCACAF teams (Mexico, U.S. and Costa Rica) that remains our next frontier. We are already at the stage where we can expect to beat all others. What we need to do is to ensure this is replicated in all the age-level national teams.
I think the $3 million sponsorship of the national Under-15 competition done in conjunction with Pepsi and the federation, is perhaps the most tangible development that answers what the federation has done for the various parish associations. By virtue of this sponsorship, we were able to introduce insurance for all the players, as well as supplement the transportation costs that were so much a big hindrance.
No longer can parishes claim that the federation was not sensitive or proactive about demands made on it to assist in the way youth programmes and competitions were financed at this level. There was always the pervading view that the federation was only keen to seek sponsorship for its national senior team programmes which often did not reflect a direct influence on the parish operations. The work is far from finished in this regard as we intend to also seek sponsorship for a national Under-12 league.
Perhaps the biggest project to really assist the parishes from a developmental point of view is the academy when it comes on stream. The federation has stayed away from making too many announcements on this important undertaking, simply because there are legal logistics being pursued behind the scenes which involve procuring the necessary architectural drawings, surveying, mortgage financing and, of course, the legal lease from Munro Trust.
From where I sit, I can safely state that nothing being pursued has hurt our April announcement that the project will meet FIFA's October deadline for construction.
I think when all is said and done, the biggest achievement of my tenure involved the whole administrative process which led the federation at the end of June to show an operational profit for the first six months of the year. This is a far cry from the financial crisis that was projected with the World Cup qualification fall off.
It will be my strong resolve to maintain this position without a falloff in the momentum of our various projects.
Burchell Gibson is the general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation.
