RSPL uncertainty affecting transfers
Published:Sunday | August 23, 2020 | 12:30 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
As Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) clubs continue to wait for the green light to start the 2020-21 season, Humble Lion head coach Andrew Price and Tivoli Gardens head coach Philip Williams have expressed that it has been difficult to do business in the summer transfer window.
The previous campaign was cancelled in May without a champion being crowned and without teams being relegated to the lower division, as a result of the local spread of the coronavirus disease. The upcoming campaign was targeting an October start, pending the approval of COVID-19-specific protocols developed by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and subsequently sent to the Ministry of Health and Wellness for approval.
According to Price, an October 18 start is the goal, but as clubs continue to wait for approval, he says the current climate has made doing any sort of deals challenging.
“There is too much uncertainty right now to even start doing business. Of course, there have been inquiries by players and [we] have inquired about players, but it’s going to be very iffy to make any definitive position right now, not knowing if the league will start on October 18 as is proposed,” Price told The Sunday Gleaner.
Because of the upheaval to the football calendar caused by the pandemic, FIFA issued guidance in April, allowing for alterations to this summer’s transfer window. The JFF has since modified the window, which started on July 27 and will allow activity up to October 2.
DIFFICULT DECISIONS
Williams agreed that the current waiting game has made roster decisions difficult to navigate.
“You don’t want to go out on a limb in terms of getting new recruits and at the same time you don’t know if and when the league will start. But at the same time, you don’t want to let go of players who served you up to the point where the season was [cancelled],” Williams said.
Price added that the recent surge in positive COVID-19 cases has further complicated matters, and as such, they will still be at the mercy of the Ministry of Heath as it relates to a return to local top-flight football.
“It is still a wait-and-see game and we are just waiting on the Ministry of Health to send back the protocols that were sent by the Jamaica Football Federation to see if they were approved and if we are able to start October 18,” Price said.
Meanwhile, JFF technical committee chairman Rudolph Speid said recently that they were not in a rush to finalise arrangements for the start of the season, stating that they did not want the return of football to be the catalyst for a spike.