Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
ST. ELIZABETH Football Association president Courtney Brown has refused to join Jamaica's delegation to Bermuda where the National Under-23 team is currently in preparing for the CAC Games, after a mix-up on Tuesday that left himself and Michael Ricketts stranded at the Norman Manley International Airport.
Ricketts left the island today in the place of Brown as head of delegation for the tour that will see the Young Reggae Boyz taking on the New England Revolution today before tackling the Bermudan national team on Saturday.
RELUCTANCE TO TRAVEL
Brown's reluctance to travel has stemmed from the opinion, despite claims to the contrary, that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is in part to blame for the embarrassing mix-up.
"I was supposed to be the head of delegation to travel with the Boyz to Bermuda, but when I went to the airport I was told that there was no ticket for Courtney Brown, head of delegation, and I was really, really upset," said Brown yesterday.
AIRPORT MIX-UP
The incident took place at the Norman Manley International Airport and news reaching The Gleaner was that a mix-up in the delivery of two electronic tickets by a travel agency in Bermuda meant that Brown and Ricketts could not travel unless they paid US$100 (J$6,500) to change the names on the tickets from JFF president Crenston Boxhill and Luton Shelton, who were not going to make the trip.
"The president called me to say how much it is not the fault of the JFF," Brown said. "He said it is the fault of the people who were in Bermuda organising the match and sending the tickets here, but it has to be the fault of the JFF because if 24 tickets for a delegation are sent, you must be the one to call the airline to confirm who those tickets were for," explained Brown.
"I am really turned off. I am made to believe, based on what I saw, that at no time was I the head of delegation," said an angry Brown.
However, Boxhill yesterday said Brown was always the head of delegation and was saddened at the way the media had reported the story yesterday.
"There was no switch from myself to Courtney Brown. There was a switch from myself to Ricketts. Courtney Brown was always the head of delegation," said Boxhill.
"It is unfortunate that the federation was not contacted before it was reported the way it was," he added.
