BOXHILL
THE UNITY Cup football competition in which the Reggae Boyz were expected to take part in this month has been postponed.
Andy Howes, executive director of Optima Sports Management International - which runs the competition, notified the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) yesterday that it has been "postponed until further notice".
No definite reason was advanced for the postponement, as the organisers only said they did so "due to circumstances beyond their control".
They also apologised for any inconvenience the action may have caused to the JFF and fans of the event.
Jamaica, Nigeria and Ghana were down to participate in the championship, with the Jamaican delegation slated to leave today and play their first match on Saturday.
Crenston Boxhill, the JFF's president, and national head coach Wendell Downswell were unhappy about the sudden move.
"This morning I got a call from one of the directors and he just said he had some very disappointing news," Boxhill told The Gleaner yesterday.
The Reggae Boyz were hoping to utilise the opportunity to prepare for next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.
"It's part of the Gold Cup preparation because we wanted to get a certain number of games and the Unity Cup was part of that preparation," Boxhill pointed out, adding that "... we'd have gained some revenue from participating in the competition as well".
Downswell said: "I'm extremely disappointed that it has been postponed because this was supposed to be an integral part of our preparation going into the Gold Cup. It would have been our final international practice games and in addition to that we have some players who I'd have taken an opportunity to see a second time ... Christopher Nicholas and Jason Morrison and Jermaine Johnson, and Ricardo Fuller would have rejoined the team."
He added: "To some extent a saving grace is that a high percentage of the players are in the teams in the semi-final round of the Premier League competition and they'll be kept active.
"What will be a mitigating factor is that the team (Jamaica) will not be able to train for a period of time which will affect the chemistry.
"It's extremely difficult to have this happen at this time. What we'll actually do, especially for those who are not a part of the four teams in the semis, is we'll have to have some physical and technical sessions with them to keep them active."
