KSAFA cancels Super, Major leagues
Published:Saturday | April 17, 2021 | 12:16 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) President Wayne Shaw says that the Super and Major League competitions for 2021 have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is now the second straight season that KSAFA’s football competitions have been cancelled because of the virus.
“There will be no senior competitions this year and this will be a major setback because there is no football for over a year, and this is a big blow for us,” Shaw lamented.
“The window for the Major and Super Leagues has passed, so what we will be looking at this time of the year is to play is our Under-10, Under-13 and 15 competitions, once we are given the go ahead from the Government to do so.”
Shaw said that the pandemic has had a damaging effect on football at the parish level because many players have become unattached and have lost interest in the sport.
“A lot of the players have been inactive because most of these players usually move up from the Major League up to the Super League and then the Premier League, and this will be very tough for them,” he said.
“A number of the coaches are now unemployed and also there are other persons who follow the competitions that are not earning anything right now. You have people who take care of the clubs, including the groundsmen and maintenance staff, who are finding it difficult to make ends meet.”
As of yesterday, Jamaica recorded 43,473 total COVID-19 cases and 713 deaths.
SHAW ENCOURAGES TAKING VACCINE
Shaw said that he is encouraging everyone to adhere to the Government’s protocols because this is the only way that the infection rate is going to decrease.
“I would like to encourage our footballers and other athletes to take the vaccine because it seems as if COVID will be here for a while and once these cases are reduced, then it will make things much better for us,” Shaw said.
Barbican FC Vice-president Christopher James said he is disappointed with the cancellation of the season, but the focus now must be on the restarting of the youth competitions.
“This is very damaging for the football in Jamaica,” James said. “I think what we need to do in KSAFA now is to restart youth football shortly. We want youth football to start so that we can get back to development because we in KSAFA have big plans for youth football.
“The players in KSAFA are very disappointed because some of them are scattered all over the place and we don’t know what has happened to some of them.”