JFF boss Burrell bows to players' demands

Audley Boyd, Assistant Editor - Sport

SAINTE-LUCE, Martinique:

AMID a grand call for loyalty and expressed willingness to "die for his country", Captain Horace Burrell, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), averted a boycott of last night's Digicel Caribbean Cup tournament fixture, and almost certain dismissal, by meeting the demands of the senior men's national football team, the Reggae Boyz.

The players had said they must be paid US$100 per day for per diem, for the 12 days that they have been enlisted for the championship; as well as 80 per cent of whatever cash prize they earn from their placing.

All four teams in the semi-finals are guaranteed prize money - US$120,000, US$70,000, US$50,000 and US$30,000 for first through to fourth.

The Jamaica team tackled Guadeloupe in the second match of the tournament last night, as scheduled, but only after Burrell met with the team on Sunday night near midnight to iron out an agreement.

Personal funds

Captain Burrell agreed to use money from his personal funds to satisfy the players' demands, saying in a very emotional speech that he would not allow his country to be embarrassed.

"Even before I commence, I just want to say that love of country for me is probably one of the greatest honours ... " Burrell began. "I served in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) for approximately 12 years and I have always said that if there is one thing in this life that I'm sure I would do it is to die for my country."

Continuing, Burrell said: "If we were to strike and not play, this would create tremendous embarrassment on the country, not Burrell, on poor Jamaica, and, as such, I would die before I allow something like that to happen.

"This has never happened to football in the history of this country and as long as God has blessed me, I will never sit in this chair and allow that to happen, so US$14,000 will be paid personally by the president himself."

He added: "I want to remind you of one thing, the president of the JFF is not a paid post, it is my love for the sport and the reason why I am going this way is because I will not subject Jamaica to embarrassment, I will not subject Jamaica to ridicule, I will not allow Jamaica to be called all sorts of names by the public which is not aware and, therefore, I now say that I declare this matter closed and give Mr Anderson (Raymond) the right to now disburse the first tranche, so that all you gentlemen would have got the US$100 per day."

The players made the demands on the grounds that the federation - which got a last-minute $6-million government grant to defray costs for the tournament - has constantly asked of them to make sacrifices; but for this tournament, they want the sport's governing body in the country to bear the burden.

Negotiations had actually begun between the players, led by a senior group of four - Shavar Thomas, the team's captain, Luton Shelton, Jermaine Taylor and Rodolph Austin - and the JFF through its general secretary, Horace Reid, while they were in Jamaica.

"Ever since the whole fiasco of the Gold Cup in 2009, we have been playing international friendlies unpaid, undercompensated and as far back as I can remember from the Ecuador game at the Giants Stadium, the JFF came to us and asked us to extend ourselves and make the sacrifice," said Thomas.

"Before the tournament (Digicel Cup), they came again and they asked us the same questions after 12 games to extend ourselves and make the sacrifice and we had a meeting with the general secretary and I personally asked him if the JFF can extend itself this time around," he added.

Thomas added: "It is in the mass media that they got J$6 million from the Government and we were told that if they received that grant, then everything would be as normal as we were asking for, as in our full per diem and 80 per cent of the win bonus. Mind you, we are not asking for a match fee, a win bonus or appearance fees, so even though we are asking them to extend themselves, we are still making a sacrifice at the same time," Thomas pointed out.

Training injury

The players also have other issues. They claim the JFF earned US$80,000 from the friendly international against Costa Rica recently in Fort Lauderdale; that only 10 tickets were disbursed to the 20-man squad for that same game; and that the bill for a training injury picked up by Shelton would be addressed to the player.

Burrell and Reid flatly denied the amount paid for the match fee, and explained that they would have had no prior knowledge of the other issues since those portfolios are generally handled by team management.

Reid pointed out that Shelton's doctor bill would be dealt with when forwarded to the JFF and with the exception of the Trinidad and Tobago international in October, all outstanding monies have been paid to its players.

In this current scenario, twice the cash-strapped football body, noting its inability to pay, put forward a deal to the players, but both were rejected.

Reid pointed out that prior to their departure, they made an offer to pay the players US$300 for the entire trip, plus 50 per cent of earnings for placement in the competition.

Secondly, Burrell met with the players after their tournament opening 3-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda last Saturday night and upped the per diem offer to US$500, as well as the percentage from earnings to 80. The offer put on the table was rejected.