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Football/Soccer - Reggae Boyz pull out of Haiti Friendly & look to Barbados too reschedule match
Boyz look to Barbados after JFF pulls out of Haiti friendly
Saturday, May 03, 2008
The proposed friendly international between Jamaica's Reggae Boyz and Haiti scheduled for May 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will not happen.
Yesterday, JFF boss Captain Horace Burrell confirmed speculation that the match will not get off the ground because of what he described as "failure on the part of the Haitian promoters to honour contractual obligations".
"We withdrew because of a lack of confidence in the promoters. They have missed many deadlines to fulfill their end of the bargain, so we didn't want to risk being associated with anything that could further damage the already tarnished imagine of our football," Burrell said.
Burrell, on his second stint as president of the JFF, said his administration, in taking the decision, also considered the possible impact that a cock-up in the organisation of the game could have on the football-loving Jamaican diaspora living in south Florida.
"Also in order to prevent any embarrassment to the Jamaican diaspora in particular and the football-loving people of Florida in general, we decided to pull out," said the CONCACAF Executive Committee member.
Burrell did not specify the areas where the promoters came up short.
With the Haiti game out the window, Jamaica, ranked 103 by FIFA, will consequently not have a game this month.
But as soon as it appeared that the Haiti (ranked 106) encounter was in doubt, Burrell sprung to action and has already got a commitment from another Caribbean side Barbados (ranked 116) to visit Jamaica for a June 3 match-up.
"We are presently finalising arrangements with the Barbados officials for that game at 'The Office' on Tuesday, June 3," he noted.
He added that all available overseas-based players will be called up for this encounter, and are expected to be in Jamaica for a training camp starting on May 25.
After the Barbados encounter, the full strength Boyz team will depart for Trinidad on June 5, for their return leg encounter with the Soca Warriors two days later. In the first leg of the two-way friendly series, the Boyz and Trinidad drew 2-2 inside the National Stadium in late March.
Shortly after the Trinidad match-up, Jamaica will commence their World Cup qualifying campaign against The Bahamas in Jamaica on June 15 and 18.
Meanwhile, technical director Rene Simoes leaves the island today for the United States in continuation of his scouting of Jamaican players.
Simoes is scheduled to scrutinise players involved in today's Major League Soccer game between Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy, and tomorrow's game between Colorado and DC United.
The Brazilian has already wrapped up his mission in England.
Jamaica's Reggae Boyz will see a second straight friendly international fail to materialise, after the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) was forced to call off the country's proposed friendly international against Haiti, following what has been described as negligence on the part of the organisers.
In the meantime, the JFF was in discussions last night with the Barbados Football Association (BFA) seeking to arrange an international football encounter between their senior teams.
Jamaica and Haiti were scheduled to meet on May 18 in Fort Lauderdale, but according to JFF boss, Captain Horace Burrell, the requisite contractual arrangements have just not been met.
"They were certain deadlines, like 50 per cent of the match fee which was to be paid and other administrative arrangements such as hotels to be put in place and confirmed, and up until last night, they were not," Burrell explained.
"In constant dialogue over the past month, which they kept promising to sort things out, it is clear that the organisations are just not able to put the arrangements together."
Prevent embarrassment
"Therefore, in order to prevent any embarrassment first of all to our players or the fans, we advised them that we had called the game off. It is very important that when we play under the banner of Jamaica, that this be done in a professional and proficient manner."
Haiti, the first Caribbean team to make an appearance at the FIFA World Cup Finals, are ranked 106th in the FIFA rankings and are the current holders of the Digicel Caribbean Cup.
Chris Duke, administration and international games coordinator of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), confirmed some of the inactivity in regard to the friendly international.
"At this time, we haven't received an application for that game, we have heard that it is in the works but we haven't been contacted by any of the promoters," Duke told The Gleaner.
"Our regulations state that we should have had an application from them by this time, but with that being said there have been instances where we haven't received one until shortly before the match."
One month ago Jamaica saw another proposed friendly international, against Argentina, scheduled for London on May 31 called off, after the South American giants opted to face Mexico and then the United States instead.
Simoes tight-lipped on players seen while scouting in England
Simoes tight-lipped on players seen while scouting in England
Friday, May 02, 2008
SIMOES... it was a trip to show players we have interest in them
Jamaica's Technical Director of football, Renê Simões, described his two-week scouting mission in England as a successful voyage, but refrained from giving his opinion on any player he saw in action.
Said the Brazilian: "It was a good trip. It was a trip to show the players that you have interest in them and also to show the players who were here that we care for them."
According to Simões, in his second stint as technical director of the Reggae Boyz, his list of interested players who are quailified to play for the country increased significantly, which essentially is a good sign for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiying campaign.
"Between the players that played for us and the players who haven't play so far we have a list of 40 players," said Simões. "When I left here we have a list of 28... which is an increase. But it is good because you don't only need 11 players; you'll need a long list of players."
Simões, 56, returned to Jamaica early this week from England where it is believed he assessed the likes of defender Nyron Nosworthy of Sunderland and Watford's winger Jobi McAnuff, along with a host of other professionals who could strengthen the core of the Jamaican team.
But the technical director said he doesn't want to start calling names to fuel speculations.
He however stated to the Observer that "I have one specific kind of player that I'm looking for that I didn't find so far".
"I see some of them, but I don't want to talk about players, numbers... because I know how this works," Simões said.
"When the list comes in there will be some news," he added.
Meantime, Simões said he will be announcing on May 5 a local camp before calling upon his legions of primarily home-grown foreign-based players in preparation for the May 18 International Friendly against Haiti, which he expects will go ahead.
THE JAMAICA FOOTBALL FEDERATION (JFF) is now looking to finalise negotiations with Barbados for a friendly international match at The Office in Kingston on June 3.
Barbados, due to play the United States in the first leg of a second-round tie in California on June 15, will replace Haiti, who were initially scheduled to oppose the Reggae Boyz in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on May 18.
On Friday, JFF's boss Captain Horace Burrell confirmed speculation that the match against Haiti would not get off the ground because of what he described as "failure on the part of the Haitian promoters to honour contractual obligations".
Burrell did not specify the areas where the promoters came up short.
With the Haiti game out the window, Jamaica, ranked 103 by FIFA, will consequently not have a game this month.
But as soon as it appeared that the Haiti (ranked 106) encounter was in doubt, Burrell sprung to action and has already got a commitment from Barbados (ranked 116) to visit Jamaica, early next month. "We are presently finalising arrangements with the Barbados officials for that game at The Office on Tuesday, June 3," he noted.
He said that all available overseas-based players would be called up for this encounter, and were expected to be in Jamaica for a training camp starting May 25. (EZS)
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Ja, Haiti friendly off 
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