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Football experts hopping mad at CFU for format change and perceived bias against Jamaica

Jamaican football experts have condemned the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) for what they see as a tasteless and unethical act to prevent the nation's Under-16 football team from retaining its Caribbean Youth Cup with a fly-by-night changing of the competition's format.,/B>

The general comment is that Jamaica got a "raw deal".

The experts with whom the Observer spoke yesterday refused to make "public comments" or be identified, but they were clearly peeved by the action and flimsy explanation given by the regional body. The Observer sensed the experts refused public comments out of fear of possible repercussions.

"It has got to be unethical to do something like that, changing the format in the middle of a FIFA-sanctioned tournament," one expert said. "The JFF must have already appealed to the CFU," he added. "They can't allow this to go on."

"The act is gross," another football expert, who requested anonymity, said.

Yet another said: "This could be a ploy to make the present football federation president look bad, after he already is not doing a good job. The frightening thing about such a move is that it could only hurt our young footballers' development, especially by putting them in a group with Mexico and Canada, two teams who traditionally have beaten our team."

Yesterday, the Young Boyz overcame the odds to blank Canada 3-0 in their Group B game in Tobago.

Dever Orgill (26th), John Ross-Doyley (86th) and Keneil Hyde in time added, enabled the Young Boyz to avenge last year's 4-2 semi-finals loss against the North Americans.

In the other Group B game, Mexico stopped Panama 2-1.

The Young Boyz will face Panama tomorrow, and Mexico on Friday.

Like the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Crenston Boxhill, coach David Hunt was taking the format change in stride.

"We are a bit disappointed with the change, but we need to tell them (Jamaicans) that the guys are focused and they are trying to do their best," he said from Tobago last evening during Sports Grill on Hitz 92 FM.

Meanwhile, a stony silence greeted the Observer yesterday whyen the newspaper tried to get an explanation from the CFU general-secretary Kerri-Ann Alleyne.

When telephone contact was made with the office, the Observer reporter was stalled for about five minutes by an operator who asked the reporter to wait as Alleyne was on another call. The operator eventually returned to the line to say "the general-secretary has left for the day".

In the original format of the competition, Jamaica, who were winners of Group F after three unbeaten games, were slated to play Group C winners Barbados today, but were indecently asked to travel to Tobago on Sunday to face Canada in a quarter-final match yesterday.

Despite yesterday's win, the move could greatly jeopardise the Young Reggae Boyz's chances of retaining their title.

The powerplay that rattled the Jamaicans like a bombshell and left them stupefied, came late last Saturday following the CFU's emergency committee approval of a revised format for the competition as a means to determine the two Caribbean teams who will go through to the CONCACAF competition.

The competition is now at the quarter-final stage and as Jamaica will host one leg of the qualification round, they have been placed in Group B with the three guest teams - Canada, Mexico and Panama - while the other qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti and Suriname will play in Group A.

[Cassa Boubou]

Earlier on the day, Haiti and Suriname looked a good match up before the Haitians showed their superiority. They didn?t even have time to warm up as traffic forced their late arrival to the venue and pushed back the kick off by 30 minutes. But that was never a bother to them as they opened the coring in the 4th minute through Desrivierres Peterson and by half time they were already up 5-1. They got further strikes from St Victor Ulterguens (23rd), Joseph Peterson (27th), Normil Valdo (44th) and Jules Sandy (45th).

Suriname had a lone strike in the 33rd minute by skipper Miguel Cronie to make the scores 3-1 at that stage and still appeared to be in the game. But Haiti were having none of that as their assault was led by captain Joseph Patterson, undoubtedly a cut above the rest in that matchup. In the second half, Haiti finished off their opponents with Saint Louis Wiselet netting a double in the 48th and 63rd minutes. And if they were serious at that stage, the scoreline could well have run into double figures.

GOOD JOB HAITI, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK..