Parishes share similar problems ... JFF helping to move them along

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Below, the respective parish Football Association (FA) presidents representing St Mary, St Thomas, St Ann and Portland, speak about the major issues affecting their organisations and discuss the way forward.

The three major issues affecting the four confederations are a lack of proper playing facilities, sourcing sponsorship and the training of referees.

"The main issues that are currently affecting us are inadequate amount of quality facilities. There is also the desire to have the clubs more structured in terms of their administrative and management structure," said Portland FA president, Raymond Grant.

St Thomas' FA president, Wayne Thompson, believes the issue of poor infrastructure is having a direct impact on the growth of football in his parish.

"There are some issues one would think of as minor, like communication and things as major as club structure," said Thompson. "There are other issues in terms of infrastructure that has a direct relationship with the growth of football."

Problems sourcing sponsorship

Danny Beckford, president of the St Ann FA, has problems sourcing sponsorship.

"The biggest issue is lack of resources; we are trying to make do with the little that we have," said Beckford. "The division two has been without a sponsor for the last five years."

St Mary's FA president, Raymond Anderson, is not overly perturbed by the lack of sponsorship, as he believes the show must go on.

"There is the problem of sponsorship, yes, but football can play without sponsorship. The major problem we have is facilities and the technical side where we need some more qualified coaches."

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), through the Peace Corps, is undertaking some work to assist the clubs with the improvement of their organisational structure.

"Currently, we are working with the assistance of the JFF through the Peace Corps, in terms of having some assistance to work along with the clubs to strengthen their organisation and to specifically meet and assist with the youths who are more vulnerable in the troubled areas within the parish," said Grant.

The Peace Corps is also assisting the St Thomas FA to improve the way they disseminate information, through the development of a web blog.

"It is very important that we improve our administration and how we communicate to the wider public," said Thompson. "Right now, we are at an advanced stage, thanks to JFF and the Peace Corps volunteers, with developing our website. It is a web blog but it would serve its purpose of pushing out information to the wider public."

Additional revenue

The St Ann FA, in the meantime, is looking to generate additional revenue by increasing the amount of advertising opportunity available to corporate entities.

Beckford said: "We have the Drax Hall facility that we are trying to get advertisements for. The biggest money earner that we have right now is to get advertising for the place. There is the advent of the premier league, where a lot of people know that their product will be visible at Drax Hall on any given day when premier league is playing and our domestic league also."

The FA presidents are, however, satisfied with the assistance being received from the JFF, bearing in mind their own financial woes.

"We are receiving support from the JFF. To be frank, bearing in mind that they have their own financial problems," said Grant. "Where they can assist they have assisted us financially. They have also assisted us in terms of our administrative make-up and what we need to do."

Thompson is pleased with the JFF efforts to standardise the sport.

"The JFF has supported us directly in terms of the strengthening of our capacities. They have developed several courses looking at referees, coaches also and the whole certification and standardisation of the football."