Williams responds to newcomers’ concerns
Published:Sunday | August 21, 2022 | 12:09 AM
CHAIRMAN OF Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL), Christopher Williams, has responded to comments from Lenworth Hyde, coach of Tier Two runners-up, and Jamaica Premier League (JPL) qualifiers, Chapleton Maroons, who criticised the organisation about its focus on money.
Hyde’s comments came after he learned the PFJL was not in agreement with the expansion of the JPL from 12 to 14 clubs.
According to Hyde, the PFJL only considered the business of making money but should also give face to the development of football.
Williams does not deny focusing on money, saying it was the only way to make the league a viable option for young men who want to make professional football a career.
According to Hyde, the PFJL is thinking only about making money and filling the stands at Sabina Park, but has not considered the development of players.
He believes the expansion will allow more young players to participate in the top flight, which will help improve the national set-up.
Financial sustainability
But Williams pointed out that, even if that were so, his mandate is not the development of local football, but the financial sustainability of the JPL.
“Yes (it is about the money). That is my role. My role is commercialisation. My job is to make money for the league. I am not the JFF. I am not tasked with the responsibility of developing football.
“I am tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the Premier League is financially viable. So, yes, it is all about money because you cannot run a professional club or league without money,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
Hyde also argued that more players would get a chance at national selection and scholarships to universities but Williams said the professional league is not the only platform for such opportunities.
“National call-ups and scholarships, they can get that at schoolboy football and at Tier Two. Professional football is not the only avenue. There is a role for amateur football, but we are trying to build a professional league to give young men an opportunity to choose football as a career.
“Lenny is talking about building a solid amateur infrastructure. That is the JFF. People who want to get paid. If they are to get a salary, who’s going to pay them? So that is why money is what we are focused on,” he retorted.
He noted that most countries in the region do not have a professional league where players can make a sustainable living from football, and they have to migrate to really earn from the sport, and Williams and the PFJL’s aim is to make professional football a reality in Jamaica.
“We must get out of our minds that football is solely a social mechanism. Amateur and fun football is, but professional football is different. That is money.
“It is like banking. People work in banking to build a career where they can buy a car, a house and take care of their families.
“How will a player feel when he wants a loan and does not qualify but he is ramming up Sabina Park.
“I have been asked to develop a professional league. So we want the money because we want to develop the financial attractiveness of football. So, yes, it is about the money,” he insisted.