WHAT THE ?!!!!

(Photo Caption: Behold the saviour of Jamaican Football - BORA!!!)


Ok, so Jamaica didn't do so well in our last quest to play at the FIFA World Cup Finals. As a matter of fact since becoming the first country from the English speaking Caribbean to make it to a World Cup Final ( France '98), the dream of returning to another one has remained just that - a dream; and after our performance "on the road to Germany" it seemed an ever fleeting one at that.

So in our quest to go back to the World Cup Finals we've tried several things including changing the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF's) administration, and changing coaches almost as many times as Jeffrey Maxwell has changed teams. Of course none of it has worked and the JFF is now more broke than Mike Tyson.

And Jamaicans being Jamaicans have sworn that the only way we'll get back to another FIFA World Cup Final is to get a "farin" coach. Logical, in part, since we got to France in '98 with the able assistance of the lovable Brazilian Rene (Jesus Saves) Simoes.

So "farin" coach names were being bandied about including, Sven Goran Eriksson of big side England fame no less. Yes, Jamaicans like to aim very high, "we likkle but we tallawah". But, alas, we couldn't afford him, as he wanted close to the equivalent of our country's entire budget!

But not to be deterred on the quest for the "farin" coach- we saw, we aimed at and we shot for a popular Serbian coach lovingly called "Bora".
And by George, would you believe we got him!!!

He's taken teams like Mexico, Costa Rica and U.S.A to the World Cup, so he's the business! But guess what...Jamaica cannot afford him!!!

Apparently Bora, says he wants 3.5 million euros, which is equivalent to almost 270 million Jamaican dollars. We're told he's not getting that, but we haven't been told what he is getting.

But let's just say that Bora has accepted a million euros, guess what, Jamaica still cannot afford him.

But hey maybe the private sector has decided to do something for "Jamaica" and says look we'll pay him his one million euros, he deserves it and its for our country! Ok, fine, its their money, they robbed, cajoled, conned and connived every last bit of it from Jamaicans so they can do with it as they please.

Ahhmm, hold up, as that's apparently not the case, the Private Sector will only be footing part of Bora's bill.

It's being reported in several sectors that the Jamaican Government - let's revise that- the "broke" Jamaican Government is going to be paying US$500,000 of Bora's salary! And to that I say somebody is drinking mad puss piss!

This is the same government that has extorted MOU's, two to be exact, from its civil servants. The same government who has said it simply cannot pay it's teachers, nurses and policemen more!
The same government who can't afford to fix the nation's pot hole laden roads.
The same government who can't afford to better equip our public hospitals so that pregnant women won't be forced to lose their babies because of failing equipment.
The same government who can't afford to put money into its education system so that every Jamaican child gets an equal opportunity at learning.

Do you know how much US $500,ooo could do in a country like Jamaica?

Do you know what half of that money could do for all sports in Jamaica, much less. Imagine it could build proper and first class training facilities for our world rated track and field athletes. It could promote swimming, a sport in which we've shown some inclination, but get's no support. It could help us find and develop the next Courtney Walsh in the primary school system. Hell, a quarter of that money could rehabilitate the now defunct Dragon Gym and probably help us put our next Mike McCallum and Lennox Lewis on the world scene.

But hey, I guess all that we've mentioned above is certainly not as important as making certain, that Jamaica is at the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2010!

Oh yeah, and here's a question for all those who think Bora is the second coming of Christ, how certain are they that he'll be able to do it? After all the last time I checked, it wasn't the technical director who took a team to the World Cup, but the players and a proper working Football Federation that had devised a sound football programme.

Why are track and field athletes so disrespected

The Trinidad Express reported this week that Trinidadian sprinters Aaron Armstrong and Kevon Pierre, both of whom had been earmarked to benefit from the country's elite athlete programme are yet to receive any money from the relevant authorities. Both men were members of Trinidad's 4x100m relay silver medallists in the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Armstrong, whose father also represented Trinidad at track and field, is now unsure whether he will be able to run next season because he has no money and is uncertain where funding will come from. I presume that Pierre may be having similar difficulties.
A few thousands miles northwest, in Jamaica, another country that produces world class athletes, in the last year alone, three of its best athletes have defected to other nations. At the root of each decision is money or the lack thereof.
Germaine Mason was ranked number two in the world the high jump when he blew out his knee representing Jamaica at the World Indoors. He had to pay for the surgery out of his own pocket despite being on national duties when he got hurt. After surgery and clearly in need of a sports psychologist Germaine could only think of his surgically repaired knee every time he tried to jump after he had healed physically.
He now represents Great Britain and has been placed in a programme that allows him to receive just over 20,000 Pounds each year to assist with training. He was quoted in the British media saying that athletes in Jamaica get nothing from Government.
Brandon Simpson now represents Bahrain after asking the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association to release him. Word is that the straw that broke his back was when he was told that he had to pay his own way to the World Championships in Helsinki.
This is happening in a country where not so long ago the Government was thinking of spending about three million pound sterling to hire a soccer coach so that Jamaica can return to the World Cup in 2010. That is more than 300 million Jamaican dollars that is being targeted in a country where 70US cents of every dollar earned goes towards servicing and repaying debt. Yet, track and field athletes who have been flying Jamaica's flag high since 1948, go hungry and live in squalor while they train, some not even able to afford the basic amenities but of whom the country expects much each World Championship and Olympic Games.
Just ask Dorian Scott, the national shot putt record holder, who by recent reports cant even find money for food that will allow him to pack on the muscle mass he needs to take him to the highest level of the sport.
The reality is that no matter how much money Jamaica spends on its soccer programme, any team that it puts out will never win the World Cup but this is not to say that we should not try to. A well-organised a soccer programme will help produce players that the island can export to the different leagues around the world and provide opportunities for players who otherwise would not be able to 'make it' in life. So investing heavily in such a programme that will make the Jamaican soccer market more respected is a very healthy long-term investment for the future of the sport in the country. The question is, why can't the same be done for track and field?
The reality is that there are many children in Jamaica who are blessed with athletic talent but have no means by which to exploit that talent for the benefit of themselves and their families. Track and field athletes can make between tens of thousands and millions of dollars each year, why are we not affording more of our talent pool to realise these dreams? The benefits would not only be at an individual level but on a national level as well.