KINGSTON, (AP):
FIFA HAS approved a US$400,000 grant to the Jamaica Football Federation to begin construction of a training centre, the federation's president said yesterday.
The money will come from the world football body's Go Project, which helps associations in small member territories, federation president Horace Burrell said.
Burrell said Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, a vice president of FIFA, confirmed that the funds will be available in February.
"The government has agreed to make available to the federation land for us to build the training centre. Once we have the funds we'll start building soon after," Burrell said.
Since Jamaica became the first team from the English-speaking Caribbean to qualify for the World Cup in France in 1998, Burrell has consistently urged the government and private sector to help build a new football facility, preferably in the northwestern resort city of Montego Bay.
Plans for the training centre include a stadium and facilities to allow players to live on the premises. The total cost of the project has not yet been determined.
Jamaica's national teams currently play at the national stadium in Kingston, but several matches scheduled there this year were cancelled because the stadium underwent extensive renovation.
