Getting up to ‘Speid’ - JFF Technical Committee Chairman concerned about effect of pandemic on men’s youth programme

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Technical Committee Chairman Rudolph Speid says that the decision by FIFA to cancel the 2021 men’s Under-20 World Cup will stifle the development of youth footballers in Jamaica.

The 2021 edition of the tournament was scheduled to take place in February before the Bureau of the FIFA Council announced on Thursday that the competition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the difficulties caused to hosting international sporting events, and international travelling restrictions.

Speid said that youth players not being able to continue developing their skill sets through consistent training and participating in local, regional, and international competitions will affect the growth of players and the sport over a long period.

“This cancellation will affect us immensely because those sets of players, maybe 35 to 40 of them, who would have been in the national Under-20 pool, would be exposed to the national team training, getting international games with other countries, and be exposed to rubbing shoulders with some of the best players locally,” Speid said.

“This training and qualifying process takes about two years getting the players to play at a higher level, and this will hamper our development in the long run, mainly because other countries were able to keep on playing and were preparing for the World Cup, unlike us. So it is not good news for us.”

RETURN TO NORMAL

Speid is concerned about how long it may take for the Under-20 programme to return to normal.

“It is not a case where the JFF has an abundance of money to spend on players that are not preparing for a World Cup Qualifier,” he said. “What is good, however, is that the JFF has a new policy where each Premier League club must register eight young players in their squads, so we hope those players will end up in the professional setting, and that will help to get their games better.”

However, apart from the Concacaf League quarterfinal game between Waterhouse FC and Arcahaie in November, no competitive football has been played locally since March, and the JFF is awaiting the approval from the Ministry of Health and Wellness to start the Jamaica Premier League next year.

As a result, Speid said that a growing number of youngsters and professional footballers are missing out on opportunities that will enhance their abilities in the sport as they are not placed in a position to be recognised by international sporting personnel.

“We have 101 professional players playing overseas. That is the last count that I had,” he said. “With all these clubs locally, the main way for development is to send these players overseas. We have not played for the nine or 10 months, and if our players were to go overseas, they wouldn’t do so well because they are not sharp as there is no competition going on.

“That by itself is another setback for us to get players in an overseas environment to play. There is nothing for people to be scouting in Jamaica, whether it is for college, to get a scholarship, or to get a professional contract. Similarly, for the Under-17 level, we need to assemble a team, and again, there is no football being played. Football has a major problem that needs to be fixed - and fast.”

The FIFA men’s Under-20 World Cup will be held in Indonesia in 2023.

Athena Clarke