Samuda to make strong push for regional pro football league

JAMAICA OLYMPIC Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda believes that his sports administration experience will aid him in helping to finally shape a professional football league in the Caribbean.

Concacaf announced Samuda’s appointment to the Caribbean Professional Working Group last Wednesday. It’s part of the latest attempt to form a regional league. The initiative has received the support of world governing body FIFA.

Samuda, in accepting his role on the committee, says he will be drawing on his knowledge and work with JOA to make the dream of a regional league a reality.

“The Olympic movement encourages its members not be insular, but to have a funnel-driven perspective of sport, and the experience of Caribbean nations in the Caribbean regional group will allow me to not only to have a Jamaican perspective but a Caribbean perspective,” Samuda told The Gleaner. “I will bring that sort of focus, I will bring that sort of competence to the table, and I hope that I will contribute positively to the dialogue which will be quite robust,” said Samuda.

There have been previous attempts to create a regional competition, with a task force being set up in 2014 under then Concacaf president, Jeffery Webb. The discussions that came out of that group ultimately did not lead to the creation of the league. Samuda says that he is hopeful that there will be concrete results this time to ensure a viable product.

“There is optimism but we have to make sure that we are pragmatic in the approach, and that we in fact give all factors a robust assessment to ensure that we are on the correct path,” he said.

Samuda sees the advantages to having a regional competition. He said it will pave the way for a regional sporting industry, and also provide a stage for talent to be discovered.

“It will provide the infrastructure that is well needed in order to create in the Caribbean a sport industry. It would be beneficial for the footballers as it will permit them a level of income which, perhaps, they would not have enjoyed before, and it will of course allow talent to be unearthed, and this is of course a critical factor in any development of any sport,” he said.

Concacaf President Victor Montagliani, in a press release, said that the group will be adopting a “football first” in its discussions as it seeks to get the competition off the ground. “This is not about a league in isolation but also about the professionalisation of football and its players, coaches and administrators in the region,” he said.