Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
BURRELL
FORMER PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Football Federation, Captain Horace Burrell, has given the clearest indication yet that he is still interested in the highest office of local football.
In an interview on the programme Scoreboard on KLAS FM Sports Radio on Monday, Burrell said that when the elections, which are constitutionally due next year , are called, he will offer himself up for selection for the premier football post again.
Burrell, who presided over the country's historic qualification for the 1998 World Cup in France and is the man widely credited with being the visionary behind the programme's success, was deposed in 2003 in a close contest against current JFF President Crenston Boxhill in what many viewed as a shock result.
Since that time there have been two failed attempts to unseat Boxhill. The latest, on January 15 of this year, was a vote of no confidence to have Boxhill removed. On the first occasion, the motion failed to get off the ground while on the second, insufficient votes were garnered and it could not be carried out.
Both times, the people behind the move were revealed to be loyalists of the former army man but Burrell gave no indication that he was directly behind the move. Also, on both occasions, Burrell was not present at the meetings.
"I have already stated that I am going to make myself available for selection when the next elections are called and I believe they are due next year," said Burrell, a senior vice-president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), an executive member of CONCACAF and a member of FIFA's Disciplinary Committee.
UP FOR SELECTION
"I will not beat around the bush and say anything. I will put myself up for selection and if the members so decide, then I will be willing to contribute," added Burrell in a complete turnaround from earlier views expressed that he would still serve football but in another capacity as he pointed to the different positions held within the global body of FIFA.
A proud speaker about Jamaica's success being used as a model for small and developing countries, Burrell is due to leave the island today, under FIFA's Com-Unity programme, to conduct a marketing seminar in Zambia, a country which had almost its entire national squad wiped out in a plane crash close to a decade ago.
