By Nodley Wright, Freelance WriterTHE DREAMS of national footballer Onandi Lowe playing a role in Jamaica's qualification for the 2006 World Cup in Germany all but ended yesterday when he was charged by the Northamtonshire police of attempting to possess crack cocaine with intent to supply.
Thirty year-old Lowe, who was released by First Division club Coventry City at the end of last season, was arrested on 14 April along with a woman from London.
Both are due to appear before Wellingborough Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, August 3.
The charging of Lowe also confirmed the worst fears of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) - that the player would not be of service to his country during the qualifiers.
VERY SUPPORTIVE
During Lowe's troubles the JFF was very supportive of the player and even assisted him in securing legal representation.
However, they earned the ire of some football supporters when they opted to leave the prolific striker out of the team for friendlies against Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland, as well as Jamaica's World Cup qualifiers against Haiti last month.
Even then technical director Carl Brown was holding out hope that he would have been able to call upon Lowe if not for Jamaica's next game against the United States of America on August 18, then soon after.
"What has happened now is that we have more options. It really is good to look at what we have to choose from," said Brown who named nine forwards.
They are Marlon King, Damani Ralph, Ricardo Fuller, Lowe (providing his situation is sorted out), Deon Burton, Fabian Taylor, Kevin Lisbie, Barry Hayles and Jason Euell.
"Right now I am just praying that they all stay healthy. The pre-season starts in another week and just before August 18, when we play the United States, the Premiership and the First Division would have begun so we hope they stay healthy," Brown told The Gleaner earlier this month.
Following the emergence of the news that the player who joined Coventry on the final day of the transfer window in March, the JFF issued a release yesterday citing their regret at the development.
It read: "The Jamaica Football Federation regret the new developments regarding the player Onandi Lowe.
"We will continue to monitor the situation. In the meantime we exhort our players, managers, fans and everyone associated with football to be especially careful when travelling abroad," it concluded.
Attempts to reach the player's manager and local representative proved futile as both home phone and cellular rang unanswered.
Prior to playing for Rushden and Diamonds, Lowe had stints with Montreal Impact (Canada), LA Galaxy (USA) and local premier league clubs Harbour View, Waterhouse and Arnett Gardens.
