Speid: RSPL a must for 2020-21

The recent upsurge in the number of coronavirus cases locally has cast serious doubt over the start of the 2020-2021 football season, which was tentatively set to begin in October. While Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dalton Wint admits it will be 'very difficult' to get the season started before the year ends, JFF technical committee chairman Rudolph Speid says there could be serious implications if the local professional league does not get up and running this year.

"We knew, based upon the information that we have seen, that it was going to be very difficult to have a start to the football season for this year, " Wint told STAR Sports.

"It depends on how we manage the situation. The protocol agreed with the Government for the start of the Premier League is for it to be in a controlled environment, and at this time I am not able to say (if proposed RSPL date will be pushed back).

"We (JFF) do not control all the marbles, we do not have the final say in this situation," he stated.

REMAIN ACTIVE

However, Speid warns that with the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, it's important that the country's professional league is up and running so players remain active and sharp in case they are required for World Cup-qualification duties.

"Our national team will be trying to go to the World Cup, and it is likely that we will not have some overseas-based players if the pandemic continues. Even if they find a cure, you might still have to quarantine people when they travel, and a lot of clubs will probably not be so open to releasing those players for that extended period, so the local squad is what we might have to rely on,'' he reasoned.

"If that is the case, the league is a must. We need the Premier League to give the players enough match practice, sharpness, winning mentality, everything to play in the World Cup qualifiers. So we are hoping to get a start sometime this year, because all the other countries are pushing ahead, even through the pandemic, to play some form of football. Canada, USA are all doing it. We have waited long enough, I think it is time we do something," he said.

He also believes that with the schoolboy football season looking less likely, the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) will play a crucial role in preparing the country's young players for the Under-20 World Cup qualifiers, which were scheduled for last June but were postponed.

"Manning Cup is out, so the Premier League is important in getting that young cohort of players active and playing so we can have a chance in the Under-20 World Cup qualifiers," Speid said.

CALL FOR GOV'T SUPPORT

He added that if the season is pushed back to next year it will not only truncate the fixtures, it will continue to deny stakeholders of vital earnings. "The Government has to realise that this is a sector, too, and people have their livelihoods. They have been patient and have gone along with the Government. But now is the time for the Government to support us and at least come up with a plan to help get the professional league on track again," he said.

The Red Stripe Premier League was suspended indefinitely in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. All local football competitions were cancelled in May by the JFF.