JPL got back to full speed in 2022
Published:Sunday | January 1, 2023 | 12:40 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
THE TALKING point of 2022 for the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), on the field in any case, would have been the return of fans for fixtures following the two-year challenge the COVID-19 pandemic threw up.
First, there was an announcement of vaccinated fans being allowed back as early as February, but by March, all patrons were welcomed, bringing the ailing league back to life.
The year saw the end of one season and the start of another, Harbour View ending the one which began in 2021 with their fifth title. The Ludlow Bernard-coached team, following their title-winning performance, wasted no time jetting off to the United States to participate in a friendly international which formed part of their off-season activities. Prior to the start of the league, general manager of the team, Clyde Jureidini, while speaking to Gleaner Sports, said despite winning the title, he still saw the goalkeeping area as one of concern, which resulted in them signing two goalkeepers in the transfer window.
“We have a young, emerging goalkeeper in Anthony Bennett and an experienced one in Amal Knight. We had some experiences that were new to us, where both goalkeepers, at one stage, were invited to national teams, Amal Knight for the senior Reggae Boyz and Bennett for the under-20s. We had a third-string goalkeeper, who was the only one in training and the only one available for games. That, we found tenuous, and we couldn’t do anything about it,” said Jureidini.
Arnett Gardens, five-time winners of the national title, were also left disappointed as another season came and went without silverware. Having won their last title back in 2017, assistant coach of the team, Eric Rademakers, believes the time to end that drought is now.
Arnett secured the services of some of their under-20 players to energise to their squad.
“The main focus has been on the younger players. We’re happy that there was an under-20 competition, so we have about five or six of those boys now trying to catch on. Outside of that, we tried to look at players that are in that young category. One such player is Teddy Brian who played previously with Tru-Juice,” said Rademakers.
Having come through the tier-two competition, Clarendon-based team Chapelton Maroons, under the tutelage of Lenworth Hyde, and St Ann’s-based Faulkland FC are the newcomers to the JPL. With no relegation in 2021, the promotion pushed the competition to 14 teams.
Hyde, speaking with Gleaner Sports following his qualification, said he intended to throw his Clarendon College boys from the daCosta Cup into the deep end of Premier League action.
“Right now, there is no under-21 league. There are no other leagues for these players coming out of Manning Cup and the daCosta Cup. That’s why so much of them out the street a fire shot. How I see it, from you leave school and can manage it, you go in the Premier League. This is what I am doing with my team,” he said.
Faulkland FC said their biggest issue was funding their journey in the Premier League.
“Looking ahead to the Premier League, the main thing that we want to secure is sponsorship, and everything else will fall in after. Our main sponsors, First Choice Finance and Gordon Plus Hardware, have done a great job so far, and I must thank them, but the Premier League is a big step. Such a big step will take a lot of backing,” said Gregory Palmer, then head coach of the team.