RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Vice-President Raymond Anderson has strongly rejected suggestions in sections of the media yesterday that the Reggae Boyz could boycott the two friendly games to be played against hosts Saudi Arabia on Saturday and next Tuesday.
Anderson, who doubles as head of delegation for the tour of this oil-rich Middle Eastern country, admitted that the local governing body and the players have yet to settle on negotiations regarding match fees.
“There is no such intent of a boycott,” said Anderson. “I don’t think we have reached there and I don’t think we will reach there, but of course if you agree on a sum you would want to clear it at least before the game, so I am in discussion with my president and he will be here at the latest on Thursday, and there will be a meeting to ensure that we go into the game smoothly and comfortably,” said the long-serving JFF official.
JFF President Mike Ricketts, General Secretary Dalton Wint and Vice-President Bruce Gaynor were left stranded in the US after their obligatory COVID-19 test clearances required for entry to Saudi Arabia had exhausted the required 72-hour shelf life.
They will now try to get COVID-19 test results in the US in order to arrive here by Thursday.
Anderson continued: “In terms of the figure that they [players and JFF] are signing off on, I know that it will be dealt with by Thursday,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Anderson, also an executive of the Jamaica Olympic Association, said he had chatted with Head Coach Theodore Whitmore and the former Reggae Boyz star player was optimistic about the game because he knows its importance in preparing the team for next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup and World Cup qualification games.
Anderson was quick to apologise to Ravel Morrison and any other player who would have had to travel economy class into Saudi Arabia yesterday, in direct contravention of the agreement with the JFF.
“There were some negotiations and I think it leaned a little away from the agreement, based on what happened. You can’t change a six for a nine and if you agree in principle for one thing and for some reason even beyond your control, it didn’t happen, it is your responsibility to communicate with the other party.
“So what the JFF has done, through our leadership of Ricketts and Wint, is to correct it and I was told that these are now business class [those yet to arrive and for their return trip], and I have to apologise because it should not have played out the way it did, but I am happy that we have corrected it,” Anderson said.
And just shy of two days’ travelling since leaving Jamaica on Saturday afternoon, Anderson was thankful that so far so good with regard to the safety of all concerned, amid the huge risks involved in travelling at this time.
“First, I must say thanks to the Almighty because we don’t have many problems in terms of safety. We all know about the situation in the UK [positive COVID-19 cases] but all along the way the medical staff kept us in check by monitoring our temperatures on a regular basis and keeping up with safety protocols,” Anderson ended.