Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor

Burrell

CITING UPCOMING qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Captain Horace Burrell, who will retake the presidential reins of Jamaica's football on Sunday, noted that the nation must resume playing international friendly matches soon.

"With the World Cup qualifiers due to start next year, we have to commence the playing of friendly matches as soon as possible - first at home to rekindle the passion and to regain our fan base; and internationally to expose our team playing as a unit on foreign soil," Burrell told The Gleaner in an interview yesterday.

Jamaica have not played an international since July 2, when they went down 8-1 to Iran during a three-match tour of Asia. In the other games, they beat Malaysia 2-0 on June 28 but lost 3-0 to Vietnam on June 24.

Last home game

The time the Reggae Boyz last played before their home crowd is even longer, June 5 to be exact, when they went down 1-0 to Chile at the National Stadium. That occasion marked their second home match of the year as they had drawn 1-1 with Panama on March 26.

Burrell, who was president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) from 1994 to 2003 when he lost a narrow vote at its congress to Crenston Boxhill, will return unopposed at Sunday's JFF Congress where Boxhill's four-year tenure comes to an end. The latter will not seek re-election.

FIFA ranking plummeted

Due to inactivity and a series of poor results, Jamaica's FIFA ranking has plummeted to a record low of 103. The incoming president is looking to change both, saying the lack of internationals has left fans "disappointed" and caused some to lose interest.

"The Jamaican football fans are disappointed," Burrell said. "The newly found friends of the Reggae Boyz have all lost interest, and quite rightly, because there was nothing happening because of the period of inactivity and the lowering of the general standard of our football, both administratively and otherwise.

"However, I firmly believe that once we outline our plans and commence our activities in a serious way, that all our fans will return."

Full houses previously

During his reign, especially in the heyday when the Reggae Boyz qualified for the World Cup Finals in France, the Jamaicans usually played matches before full houses and were so strong that the home venue was dubbed 'The Office'. The absence of matches has changed that complexion recently, but Burrell is convinced many spectators are hungry for action.

"I'm also aware that thousands of fans are waiting for the new era to commence and to throw their full support behind the Reggae Boyz once again," he said.

"I'm looking forward to Sunday to commence the rebuilding phase of our football programmes," he explained, pointing to the congress where he will officially be reinstated.

On Tuesday, news broke that the federation and the club consortium managing the Cash Plus Premier League, the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), were at loggerheads, which led to an indefinite postponement of the competition, and Burrell said that only adds to the woes.

"The situation is so dim that it needs a complete overhaul in every department because of the dismal position in which we've found ourselves," he said. "I will speak to several issues, including that one (CPPL suspension), at the congress on Sunday."