FANcy plans

President Michael Ricketts says that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is proposing to bring fans back into the National Stadium for their FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this year.

The schedule for the final round has been finalised with Canada, Panama, and El Salvador joining the Reggae Boyz, Mexico, Honduras, the United States, and Costa Rica for the eight-team tournament to determine the three automatic spots and a play-off spot for Qatar.

Jamaica will start their campaign with five of the first seven games away from home, including their opener against Mexico at Estadio Azteca on September 2. However, Jamaica will have three home games in 2021.

“We are highly optimistic,” Ricketts told The Gleaner. “We are really hopeful that while we might not be able to have a full stadium, if we can socially distance and allow some spectators in, it would bode very well.”

Ricketts says that the JFF is crafting the protocols to present to the Ministry of Sport for approval to host their seven home games. Ricketts says that while it would be ideal to create a home field advantage for the Reggae Boyz, the JFF will be mindful of guidance and restrictions posed by the ministries of Health & Wellness (MOHW), and Sport.

“It all depends on the respective ministries and they have a responsibility to protect the interest, health, and well-being of every Jamaican,” he said. “We don’t want to be overbearing, but at the same time, we would love to have some spectators in the stands.

SOCIAL DISTANCING PROPOSAL

“We have suggested that we work out an effective social distance programme for the stadium. And we reckon that if we social distance, we could have about 5,000 persons at the National Stadium. We are hoping that [proposal would be accepted], and it would work.”

However, Dr Alfred Dawes says that expectations for spectators to return this year, despite a reduction in COVID-19 cases, should be tempered as there is still not enough persons vaccinated, as well as the threat of the more aggressive Delta variant of the virus.

“In most countries where we have seen a return of fans in the stadiums and arenas, it has been coupled with a mass vaccination campaign,” Dawes said. “And with the low vaccination rate that we have, although we are seeing a decrease in the number of cases and hospitalisations at any moment, when another strain comes, we could have an uptick, as what happened in March-April.”

Jamaica reported 44 new cases with a positivity rate of 5.2 per cent, a decrease of 0.5 per cent compared to Saturday’s report.

Dawes says that next year would be a better target for a return of spectators as he expects that the MOHW will maintain protocols until there are significant improvements.

Four of Jamaica’s seven home games are scheduled for next year including the final two of their campaign in March against El Salvador and Honduras.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com