Not just the coach who should go – Jureidini

GENERAL MANAGER of Harbour View FC Clyde Jureidini has called for the entire Reggae Boyz technical staff to step down, following the resignation of head coach Steve McClaren after Jamaica’s failure to secure automatic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

McClaren, who led the national programme for the past 18 months, tendered his resignation to Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts on Tuesday night. His decision came after the Reggae Boyz were held to a heartbreaking 0-0 draw by Curaçao before more than 35,000 fans at the National Stadium, a result that sent the visitors to their first-ever World Cup.

Curaçao topped Group B with 12 points, one more than Jamaica.

Jureidini told The Gleaner that McClaren made the correct decision in taking responsibility, but insisted that the entire technical staff must also be held accountable.

“It should be a sequence of decisions,” he said.

“We have seen the first decision of the resignation from the head coach immediately after the game, and I think that was the right decision he made. I admire him for taking responsibility as the leader of the group, but that leader has been in place for 16 to 18 months, so the other persons in his technical team should also follow suit.”

Jureidini noted that the coaching unit operated collectively throughout recent tournaments, including the Nations League, the Gold Cup, and the World Cup Qualifiers, all of which ended in disappointment.

“At no time I heard he was making decisions alone or out of context with anybody else,” Jureidini said.

“The team seemed to be working together up to last night, before the game, during the game; during the Nations Cup, which was a failure; and the Gold Cup, which was also a failure; and during the World Cup Qualifiers, which also is a failure. So the entire group of the technical staff, including the technical director, should take full responsibility as McClaren did.”

He pointed out that if the JFF intends to follow standard practice, then members of the existing staff, most likely Merron Gordon or Rudolph Speid, could serve as interim coaches for the intercontinental play-offs in March.

“If they don’t qualify us, then we remove them and start afresh,” Jureidini said.

He noted that a deeper long-term issue with the JFF is their heavy dependence on overseas-based players. Jureidini argued that this approach has failed in seven straight qualifying cycles since the successful 1998 campaign.

“One thing for sure, after seven continuous World Cup qualifying campaigns of the JFF leadership under Captain Horace Burrell and coach Simoes until now, clearly investing in overseas-based talents that come from England has failed continuously,” Jureidini said.

“The one successful campaign was based on Carl Brown’s local contingent with former JFF President Tony James. They built training camps, they built team unity, they built chemistry, and they built preparations continuously locally, then added a few selected talents from overseas who could blend with the base of the team,” said the veteran sports administrator.

Jureidini also highlighted that once Jamaica shifted from a locally oriented model to a European-oriented one, the national side performances declined.

“What we got is more names, more fame, and less performance, equally failing to qualify,” he said.

“A new direction needs to be forged, a new philosophy needs to be forged, and a local-based contingent needs to be forged.”

“We don’t have trust and belief that local-based personnel are good enough to be invested in,” he said.

“The overseas-based ones have bigger names, bigger fame, and bigger value that sponsors align with, but we get less return from them.”

Jureidini also pointed to the Reggae Girlz as a model of success, they have qualified for two consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments.

“If you look at the girls’ team, who is the leader? Khadijah Shaw. Are the English-based or American-based players the main ones? It is the players who were developed here and given opportunities to grow that carried us to two FIFA World Cups.”