11 Aubrey Campbell/Gleaner Writer NEW YORK, NY: S OME EIGHTEEN schools are expected to participate in this year’s staging of the Jamaica Alumni Football Tournament (JAFT) at the James L. Fleming Park, Yonkers, NY, on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25. During a virtual information session with team leaders last week, tournament directors Bobby ‘Tego’ Austin and Michael ‘Dunga’MacDonald announced upgrades to this year’s festival, including the addition of a youth component with an international flavour, new teams in the masters section, and support from a key diaspora stakeholder. “Players and supporters will like the facilities provided by the town of Yonkers with a new playing surface (astroturf ), lighting and more than adequate parking,” noted Austin, whose JC teams made it to the playoff round last year. With more than one field at their disposal, organisers are upbeat about the addition of a youth segment that will showcase the players before an audience that will include college coaches. Four of the six teams in the youth segment will be juniors – under 12 years old - and two will be seniors, under 19 years old. McDonald, who played collegiate soccer at the Division One level after a stellar career for Jamaica College in the Manning Cup competition, said that after some effort, the festival will provide an opportunity for selected players from the 2022 Manning and DaCosta Cup season to play an invitational team from the Griffin Football Club, with the hope of securing scholarship to further their careers in the sport. Andre Virtue, whose charges at Ballaz Academy have been making a name for themselves across Jamaica, will face off with a Bronx-Albanian outfit in the U-12 division that will have Griffin FC and Central Brooklyn SC, NY, as well, for an entertaining foursome for the families travelling to see the youngsters in action. For the masters, those players seeking to rediscover the glory for self and school, three new teams will suit up this year, all with championship pedigree; Charlie Smith High School (Manning Cup), and Cornwall College and St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) from the DaCosta Cup competition. Last year, Calabar repeated as champions in the U-45 division and St Georges’College topped the over-45 section for their first championship. Alongside the excitement and the action, the tournament organisers will shine the spotlight on some very important (former and current) personalities of the sport for their dedication and commitment. Those getting the nod this year include player and coach Frank Brown and Christopher Zaidie for services to STGC, Boys’ Town, Santos and Columbia University; Trevor Ellington – Mercy College, Unity FC/Bronx New York Int’l Soccer League; and Jerome Waite – coach/Charlie Smith High, Arnett Gardens. On Saturday evening, the Griffin Masters team will face Greenwich Pumas Masters in a memorial game for Milton‘Bumpy’Harris, who played for both teams before his untimely passing in April this year. Bumpy is better remembered as a member of the 1987 STATHS Manning Cup championship team, moving on to represent Papine, Real Mona, Barbican and Constant Spring outfits in the National Premier League and other Corporate Area competitions. ‘We are moving in the right direction and we are happy with the level of buy-in from the teams and the community, and especially Victoria Mutual Building Society and The Gleaner Company/USA, at this time. Patrons will be pleased with the offering,” Austin said. The tournament is scheduled for kick-off at 9 a.m. on both days. Livingston Scott/Gleaner Writer FOLLOWING ANOTHER disappointing youth teamperformance, with the young Reggae Girlz at the Concacaf Under-20 Women’a Championship in the Dominican Republic, football supporters continue to question the local governing body’s, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), preparation of teams leading into tournaments. IT IS widely known that national youth coaches are generally given two to three months, tops, to select, organise and prepare these teams. However, Techincal Director, Wendell Downswell, said all of that is about to change, as going forward the JFF intends to have extensive camps of a year or more to fine-tune preparations for future tournaments. “What we will have now, starting with our under-14 programmes that we have in place, is to have these under-14s come in three years leading up to their tournaments, while our under-15 boys will have two years of preparations. “These preparations will be funded by FIFA as it relates to staffing and international practice games and camps and that will be a step in the right direction,” Downswell told The Gleaner. He recalled that in 2011 when the Reggae Boyz qualified for the men’s under-17 World Cup, that the team spent two months in Brazil and played more than 15 practice games in preparing for that tournament’s qualifiers and he said they have to replicate at least that with all youth teams if they aim to be successful. “In terms of preparation going forward, we want to replicate our youth camp like when we qualified in 2011. We had a two-month camp in Brazil and we played 15 to 17 top international games before the tournament and it made a major difference. “We need to intensify preparation by starting early with our under-15s and under-14 boys and girls and then we will continue with the under-20s coming up,” he stated. Jamaica’s U20 girlz ended the Concacaf U20 Women Championship with a dominant 4-1 win over Panama, giving credence to the arguments for better preparation but Downswell was quick to point that the championship came at short notice and was one of the reasons for their limited preparation. “It was not a calendar event, so it’s not that we had it on the calendar for an extended period. We had to put together a squad in a short space of time and we saw the girls showed guts and determination. “But to be grouped with the US, the world champion, and Canada, a former world champion, was always going to be tough for us,” he said. He also believes the level of competitiveness in domestic female competitions must also improve if they are to be a major factor in regional tournaments and qualifiers. “If you look at the US and Canada, they have very strong leagues and they have a vast pool of quality players to choose from. When you look at our leagues there’s not much the top players have to do in terms of performing. When we have a more competitive environment where week in, week out they have tough games, that will improve our quality and competitiveness. “There is only so much we can do in terms of preparation but once we are able to get that level of preparation, improve the quality of our leagues and put all the necessary logistics in place as it relates to staffing and such, we will be there competing with the best.” livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com Preparation overhaul TD makes plans for improved preparation in the wake of dismal young Reggae Girlz performances Young Reggae Girl Maya Ragunandanan dribbles away from Canada’s Thaea Mouratidis during their Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship game at the Estadio Felix Sanchez in the Dominican Republic recently. COURTESY OF @ CONCACAFW Youth take centre stage at alumni football tourney Calabar, STGC look to repeat at JAFT 2023 Errol Ellington CONTRIBUTED THE MONTHLY GLEANER | JUNE 1 - JULY 5, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | SPORTS AS OF May 1, 2023, importers of non-commercial less than container load (LCL) cargo have the option of using contactless clearance at all seaports and marine public bonded warehouses. The contactless clearance pilot phase, which ran fromOctober 2022 to January 2023, afforded non-commercial customers a more efficient, hassle-free and less time-consuming avenue to clear their cargo as the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) continues to fulfil its mandates of trade facilitation, border protection and revenue collection. Having garnered feedback from freight forwarding agents and importers, Kingsley Henry, project manager for the Contactless Clearance Process, highlighted some plans to be executed as the process is implemented. “The JCA continues towork to improve the confidence that our customers have in the integrity of the clearance process by introducing body-worn cameras to officers who will be inspecting cargo under the Contactless Clearance Process,”he said. He says that payment options will be expanded in the near future to facilitate the full implementation of the process for all non-commercial importers. The benefits of the Contactless Clearance Process do not only impact the Agency and its end customers but also the freight forwarding agents. Carlos Ibar of Dennis Shipping recounted that during the pilot phase of the process, he experienced“faster processing times” and appreciated the “less hands-on work for freight forwarders.” He added that “the overall experience was pretty positive. With minor tweaks, it should be beneficial to all - freight forwarders and customers alike.” The JCA encourages all non-commercial customers to take advantage of the Contactless Clearance Process and enjoy significantly less waiting, less hassle and less stress. As a reminder, a packing list with adequate details of the shipment should be shared with the respective agent for increased efficiency in completing an accurate Customs declaration. For additional information, persons may contact the Jamaica Customs Agency by email at: contactlessclearance@jca.gov. jm or call 876 922 5140-8. Customs implements Contactless Clearance Process after successful pilot ADVERTORIAL
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzNTI=