Reggae Boyz call off strike

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will honour their 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup fixture against Guadeloupe tonight at the Riviere Pilote Stadium in Martinique after they had threatened not to take any further part in the competition unless the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) met certain conditions.



The players had demanded US$1,200 per diem and 80 per cent of the prize money should they go on to win the competition.



In a meeting with the players before they left the country, the JFF had proposed 50 per cent of the fee and US$300 per diem, however, that was flatly refused. That offer was increased to US$500 per diem but the players also turned that offer down.



However, the players decided to call off their planned strike action after JFF’s president Captain Horace Burrell agreed to meet the demand of the players.



The team’s participation in the tournament had been under threat from the start as the cash-strapped federation struggled to find funds for the trip. However, the Sports Development Foundation intervened and provided the JFF with 6 million dollars.



The match tonight is scheduled to kick off at 7.30 p.m. Jamaica time.

The Jamaicans, who are the defending champions, head the four-team group on three points after grinding out a 3-1 win over Antigua and Barbuda in their first match of the round-robin Group ‘I’ playoffs on Saturday night.



Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago are out of the competition after suffering their second loss in Group ‘H’.



The Soca Warriors who were beaten 2-0 by Cuba last Friday night, lost 1-0 to Grenada yesterday and are pointless after two games.