WESTERN BUREAU:
THE PRESIDENT of the St. James Football Association, George Evans is welcoming multi sports facility to be completed in Montego Bay but is wary about its effect on the game in the parish.
Evans said that while he was looking forward to the completion of the project, which has so far gone through two phases of construction, he wanted to know what would happen to the nearby field owned by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and used extensively by the Football Association (FA).
Speaking at the presentation ceremony of the FA at the Jamaica Grandiosa Hotel on Friday night, Evans said that if upon completion, the complex which will also be run under the auspices of the UDC, will see the closure of the other field, then the overall cost to the FA and clubs might be too much to bear.
He said he was expecting the cost of using the new complex to be high and said that not many clubs in the region would be able to afford to use it on any regular basis if at all.
Work on the complex has stopped for over three months with only the football field, the eight-lane rubberised running track and fencing has been complete. A lot of work is still to be done on the project including the construction of a perimeter wall and spectator seating, changing facilities and parking area.
Evans meanwhile told the audience on Friday that despite the down ward trend in football in the parish over the last couple of seasons, there has been some positives coming out following the last season.
He pointed out the inclusion of Jermaine Anderson in the starting line up of the national team in their first match against India on Thursday as a huge leap forward for the parish. Anderson who scored the opening goal in the 3-0 win before being substituted at half time represented two time champions Granville in the St. James Hart Shield Senior League last season, scoring nearly 50 goals in all competitions.
He also argued that the Hart Shield Senior League was as good as any parish league in the country right presently including the KSAFA Major League.
While the availability of quality fields was still a major problem in the parish, Evans added that eight of the 11 teams that took part in the Senior League last season had their own home field.
He also said that one of the positives was the continued growth of youth football in the parish and pointed out that of the nine competitions run by the FA this season, four were for age groups between Under 13 and under 20.
He lamented however that not enough senior clubs fielded teams in these competitions and said that as of next season, it will be mandatory that every club playing in the Senior League, must field at least one youth team.
Among the negatives, he said, were the continued lack of structures in the clubs despite the best efforts of the FA and the Jamaica Football Federation.
He said only four clubs turned up for the last management seminar the FA had put on and said that more clubs will fall by the way side if the trend of 'one man running the show' continues for much longer.
Paul A. Reid
