Jamaica has football talent but it is just not enough'

For expert ESPN analyst and colour commentator Tommy Smyth, an Irish by birth, countries like his own and Jamaica will always struggle to consistently make a mark on the global footballing stage simply because of a lack of enough seriously talented players, in comparison to more respected football nations.

Noted for his high-pitched, falsetto-type voice and his sharp opinions Smyth, who has been leading ESPN's Super Bowl at sea coverage aboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Sea ahead of tomorrow's NFL Super Bowl game against the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, drew several similarities between both nations during one of his filming breaks.

"Jamaica's football programme is, unfortunately, like the programme in my own country, Ireland," Smyth surmised. "We just don't have the amount of players coming through the system to have enough good players at any one time, and so we will both continue to struggle for the most part in international football."

Smyth drew reference to Brazil's development programme, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the world simply because of the country's high rate of player export, and pointed out that countries like Jamaica and Ireland need to pay more attention to unearthing more talent if they are to make a serious push in world football.

"In Brazil every year there are 38 State Championships being played, so even if you only get one player out of every four of those championships, you have got a good international team, whereas with Ireland or Jamaica, yes, we have created some good players over the years, but it's not enough," Smyth pointed out.

"Robbie Earle is obviously a great star and there is also (Theodore) Whitmore, but the problem is we just don't see the volume of really talented players coming through, and our goal in Ireland, and I imagine Jamaica's goal is the same, we can just try to do our best to get a team to the World Cup and see what happens from there."

greatest experiences

Smyth, who was also in Jamaica last year for an ESPN function, took time out to speak of his fondness for the island and its people and shared an experience he had with a Jamaican teen while on the island.

"It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I never enjoyed anything so much," said Smyth. "There was one story that really touched my heart. There was this one kid 16 or 17 years old and he told me that he got up at 6 a.m. from Kingston so that he could come over to see us in Montego Bay, and when I asked him why, he said, because he saw us on Soccernet Press Pass all the time and he really wanted to see us in person.

"It was so touching to see that you can touch people's lives like that and have that sort of influence on them. Sometimes you sit in the studio and you do your show, you don't know what people's reactions will be. But seeing something like that was truly heart-touching, it was amazing," Smyth added.

"It's amazing. Being in Jamaica was like being back home, there are so many similarities in terms of culture and the people. Sure, there is the accent, but the people are so kind and the one thing that really struck me is that even though they didn't have a lot materially, what they did have, they were always willing to share," Smyth continued.

Smyth has been with ESPN since 1993 covering everything from the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A championships to ESPN's Major League Soccer broadcast and the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.

- A.L.