Player selection farce?

The situation surrounding the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) naming a new coach and a squad for a major friendly international against Argentina in the United States is beginning to look farcical.

Following up on the omission of the team’s captain and one of the leading goalkeepers in Concacaf, Andre Blake, it was learnt that Blackpool midfielder Kevin Stewart was named in the squad, despite not playing any football since the end of the last season due to injury. Joel Latibeaudiere of Swansea is injured and is not yet in possession of his Jamaican passport. New invitee Jonathan Russell, like Latibeaudiere, has no Jamaican passport, while Dillon Barnes was released by Queens Park Rangers at the end of the season and now plays fifth-tier football.

An article written by Matt Scrafton in the Gazette and published on Tuesday, described Stewart’s invitation as bizarre. ‘Blackpool’s Kevin Stewart bizarrely named in Jamaica’s squad despite being out injured’ the headline read.

“The midfielder has yet to see a minute of action this season due to being sidelined with a stress fracture of the foot.

“Speaking this morning, Blackpool boss Michael Appleton revealed Stewart is waiting to have another scan to see how his foot is healing,” a part of the article read.

It continued: “There’s still no exact time frame on the 28-year-old’s return, but it’s understood he won’t be available until after the September international break, at the earliest.”

Twenty-two-year-old Latibeaudiere, according to a report out of his club is suffering from a shoulder injury and will be out at least until after the international break. The cultured defender made his Jamaican debut in May in a 0-6 loss to Catalonia. He is highly regarded and has the distinction of being a member of the English team which won the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, as well as the England Under-17 team which finished second in the European Under-17 Championship.

CLOSED BOOK

Merron Gordon, who assisted Paul Hall when he served as interim coach and who is expected to be on the new coach’s staff, was a closed book when asked if he had a hand in the selection of the squad.

“Based on what I heard, the coach will be announced on Friday, and all the questions can be put to him then,” Gordon said, answering the question pre-emptively when contacted by The Gleaner.

Chairman of the Technical Committee, Rudolph Speid, was much more open when contacted. The issue of injured players, he said, was no major problem and there was an easy fix, if required.

“On the matter of players being injured, this is not a big deal, because the coaches knew of players being injured when they were putting their squad together, and that is one of the reasons why reserves were named, just in case the injured players did not recover in time.

“Also, we have a large group of players to call on. Right now, there are another 15 players waiting in the wings, and based on the location, we can call on United States-based players, if required,” Speid said.

He also indicated that since the appointment of the new coach, the response has been positive, with players reaching out from as far away as Belgium declaring their interest.

On the issue of players not having Jamaican passports, the laws of FIFA allow for that, as long as there is an agreement between the two countries, he said. This agreement, he said, does not need to be pre-agreed, but can be made any time before the game.