LETTER OF THE DAY - Kudos Schäfer on tackling Jamaica's football issues
Published:Saturday | March 1, 2014 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I would like to congratulate the new head coach of the Reggae Boyz, Winfried Schäfer, for his recent comments. He lamented the playing surfaces at the Premier League level, stating that without proper fields, our football would remain stagnant.
Mr Schäfer should know that this has been an ongoing grievance for many football-loving fans in Jamaica. It is quite amusing that since we qualified for the World Cup in 1998, there has been little development of local football playing fields.
There is a bigger issue that Mr Schäfer should focus on as well. ISSA indicated that it would not allow schools to play on bad playing fields, but this practice continues. If you look at the playing fields for the Manning Cup competition, the conditions are horrible for our schoolboys.
I believe we must start from that level if we are to improve our football. The surfaces for schoolboys must be at a high level. I remember my travels to Florida, and even the field at the parks are better than 90 per cent of our school fields.
FUNDS NEEDED FOR DEVELOPMENT
There must be funds channelled into the schools and clubs. For the schools, these football fields must be dedicated to just football and no other sport. This may be hard to swallow for some, but if we are serious about development of football locally, it must be done right away.
We have seen where overseas clubs can have grass rolled out in a matter of weeks. We need to have a grass-planting farm where top-quality grass is grown for playing surfaces in Jamaica. I am no expert in grass planting, but we have the land space to take on such a project if we so desire.
So far, I believe Mr Schäfer is serious about long-term development and he needs the support of the corporate world and the Government of Jamaica. This could radically change the lives of our young people and offer opportunities for employment.
DAYNE ANDERSON