JPL States that the Deficit of Referees Could Jeopardize Schoolboy Football
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The Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) scheduled games on every day of the week except Sundays.
The Jamaica Football Referees Committee (JFRC) currently has fewer referees than expected. This has caused a deficit that is likely to impact the ongoing football season. This has become a matter of concern at a time when all the different tournaments across Jamaica kick off.
An anonymous source revealed that this shortage was caused by incompetency within the JFRC whereby the leaders of the committee did not set measures to curb the situation. The anonymous source further stated that the COVID-19 pandemic also had a hand in the shortage.
One highly ranked member of the JFRC, who did not want his identity disclosed, said that the situation is extremely bad and it’s expected to worsen when the Jamaican Premier League begins on the 23rd of October. JPL is the largest football competition in Jamaica.
In addition, some lower-level local church tournaments are yet to begin. These tournaments are expected to make the situation even more difficult to handle. In the meantime, the Manning Cup – schoolboy football of the Corporate Area and the daCosta Cup – rural schoolboy football are already underway.
According to a different source, the JFRC should have initialized a recruitment program prior to the football season since the administrators had been urged to prepare in advance.
The head of the JFRC, Victor Stewart, admitted that there was a shortage of referees in Jamaica but firmly denied the allegations made against the committee. In Stewart’s view, the JFRC in conjunction with a variety of organizers, have been been working to ensure the referees are well prepared.
Stewart, while commenting on the Manning and daCosta tournaments, blamed the organizers. The Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) scheduled games on every day of the week except Sundays. He claimed that the games should be played on two or three days of the week. He went on to disclose that the shortage was critical in the eastern and western sides of Jamaica.
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