Gov’t approves fan return for USA qualifier
Published:Friday | October 29, 2021 | 12:11 AM
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Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts says that he is overjoyed at the Government’s decision to allow spectators to return to the National Stadium for FIFA World Cup qualifiers. After a meeting with JFF officials and local...
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts says that he is overjoyed at the Government’s decision to allow spectators to return to the National Stadium for FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
After a meeting with JFF officials and local authorities last night, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said that a limited number of vaccinated fans will be allowed to attend the qualifier against the United States on November 16. The decision was a reversal of their initial stance on Wednesday when they refused the JFF’s proposal to have fully vaccinated fans at the game.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness hinted, when he addressed Parliament to announce the new COVID-19 restrictions, that the game against Mexico in January could be the fixture that would allow fans to return and not the US game.
Ricketts says that the full details will be announced on Monday, but he says that he is excited to have the home crowd backing the Reggae Boyz again.
“We had a very good meeting,” Ricketts told The Gleaner. “We had a lot of positives coming out of that meeting. And as it now stands, it looks like we are going to get some patrons in the stadium.
“Of course, they will have to be fully vaccinated. The details and the logistics will be worked out. There is a formal announcement to be made by Minister McKenzie on Monday.”
McKenzie told the RJRGLEANER Group last night that approximately 5,000 would be allowed in the stadium, well short of the 50 per cent capacity goal (17,500) that the JFF targeted in its proposal. He also said that the decision on Wednesday wasn’t necessarily the final say.
“Whatever decisions have been made wasn’t cast in concrete, so we can reassess, and we have done that,” McKenzie said.
Ricketts said they are pleased to be able to bring fans back to cheer the team although they could not reach their initial target.
“We are just delighted,” he said. “Totally. Absolutely. Like one person said to me, ‘If we had support in the stands against Canada, we would have won the game.’
“So we are just happy and waiting until Monday to hear what the details will be and then we will start the process from there.”
Jamaica is the only country to date that has not had spectators for home qualifiers.