Causes of the deficiency of world class home-grown Jamaica footballers
Name: Romain Jones Centre Number: 100016 Candidate Number: 1000160804 Subject: Caribbean Studies
Acknowledgments This project was the culmination of efforts of many persons and not only myself. Without the contributions of them, the completion of this research project would not have come to fruition to whom I must extend ultimate gratitude. The researcher is thankful for the guidance of his Caribbean Studies teacher, Ms. Gordon, whose input was important in completing the research properly so that the research was of standards required of CXC. The researcher is very thankful of efforts made my friends and family in completing this project. Special thanks must be made to those who assisted in the distribution and recovery of questionnaires. Warm thanks are also made to friends who proofread this project and offered suggestions. Finally, the researcher is also thankful to his parents for the motivation to complete this project to the best of his ability.
Table of Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Background to the Research ..................................................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Research ........................................................................................................................... 4 Value of the Research ............................................................................................................................... 4 Statement of the Research ....................................................................................................................... 5 Objectives of the Research ....................................................................................................................... 5 Technical Terms used in the Study ........................................................................................................... 5 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Data Collection Sources .............................................................................................................................. 10 Presentation of Data ................................................................................................................................... 11 Analysis of Data........................................................................................................................................... 17 Discussion of Findings ................................................................................................................................. 18 Conclusions, Limitations, and Recommendations ...................................................................................... 20 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Limitations .............................................................................................................................................. 20 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 21 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 22 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 23 Questionnaire A ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Questionnaire B ...................................................................................................................................... 24 Questionnaire C ...................................................................................................................................... 25
Introduction Background to the Research Football is the world's most popular sport. This is no different in Jamaica. Consequently, the Jamaica Football Federation sends teams to participate in the FIFA World Cup qualification process. Jamaica's qualification in for the 1998 FIFA World Cup caused mass euphoria in Jamaicans (both at home and in the diaspora). Even though they were knocked out at the group stages with four points (one win, one draw and one loss), Jamaica was proud of the performance of the Reggae Boyz. Since, Jamaica has failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals yet Japan, over whom the Reggae Boyz claimed their sole victory, has consistently made it to knockout rounds in subsequent World Cups, Trinidad has made it to the Finals since and numerous other countries smaller than us in population, size, and economy have made it to World Cup Finals. Faced with this reality, many have lambasted the poor performances of foreign-based players and questioned if our local-bred players are really worse than them.
Purpose of the Research The researcher hopes to ascertain the state of the youth football infrastructure in Jamaica. The researcher also aims to determine the difference between the footballing education of home-grown Jamaicans and naturalized Jamaicans who were educated in football in first world countries.
Value of the Research The research will benefit the researcher by exposing the researcher to football coaching which is a field that interests the researcher. The results of this research would benefit the Jamaican Football Federation as they could utilise them to improve
the footballing landscape as to assist Jamaica’s attempt in being a big player in major international football tournaments which (if successful) would boost morale of the population.
Statement of the Research What are the causes of the Jamaica's inability to produce international calibre footballers?
Objectives of the Research
Why are there not enough home-grown players in the national team?
What is the state of the youth football infrastructure in Jamaica?
Do many youth footballers make the transition to professional football? Do many youth footballers believe they can make professional football their sole income earner?
Technical Terms used in the Study FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) - This is the International Governing Body of Football. CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) - One of six continental member governing bodies of FIFA. Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) - Jamaica's Governing Body of Football. The JFF is a member of CONCACAF. Home-grown Player- A football player that spent an extensive period of time (approximately 6 years of the 14-21 years of age) as youth footballer in a country [Jamaica].
Youth Football - Football played non-professionally by persons under 21 in specified age groups. This includes: under-21, under-19, under-17, under-15 and more. International Tournaments- Football tournaments sanctioned by FIFA which are played by national senior teams.
Literature Review Football is a sport played by two teams of eleven players each. According to a Gleaner Article by Robert Bailey, (Bailey, 2012), it is the belief of one of our best coaches, Neville Bell, that Jamaica needs football academies in order to increase the quality of players across the island. This is because at academies, more time is spent with the players to learn how to play the sport which will increase their understanding of the game hence, make them better players. Implementing such a system would lead to the beginning of Jamaica adopting the European model of academies where players board at an institution (usually run by a parent club team, to serve as a feeder to the senior team) whose footballing, educational, nutritional and other important needs are taken care of. These institutions have been very successful and have formed footballing philosophies and cores of the F.C. Barcelona team of 2008-2011 and the Ajax teams of the 1980s and 1990s. Jamaica’s senior national football team has not qualified for a World Cup since 1998. According to the article penned by Tony Becca, (Becca, 2013), this is due to the inability to produce quality players in Jamaica. In the article posted by ESPN FC, (Hesse, 2013), Uli Hesse uses the article to entail the process the German national football federation underwent to bring the German National Football Team back to the top of the Football landscape which is where they are today. Two German club teams (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund) contested the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final and the German National Team has made it to the semi-finals of the last four international tournaments
they have been in (World Cup 2006, Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012) in addition to winning numerous titles at the youth level (Under 21, Under 19, Under 17). The German football infrastructure underwent a massive overhaul (especially at the grassroots level) after the two disappointing performances at World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000. Hesse wrote this article during the English call for improvement in their football structure. Even though this article is of a large European country, Football is a sport played by eleven players so the size of a squad is often irrelevant and this article can be used to serve as a benchmark against which all other countries can be compared including Jamaica. An article published by The Guardian written in 2012 after the successful exploits of Caribbean athletes gives reason for the athletes' outstanding performance at the Olympics past the traditional argument that "Black" athletes are simply physically superior. The article stated that if the emergence of Caribbean was simply down to the West African genes then countries such as: United States of America, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana and other West African countries would be doing as well as Jamaica and other Caribbean countries today. Rather, the author suggests that the success of the Caribbean nations is down to economic policies in the 1960s and 1970s which enabled easier access to healthcare and education which are coming to fruition today. Although this article is specifically referencing Athletics and not Football, the sports are similar in the physical nature which they require. This article can be used as some comparison between the success of Football and Athletics in the Caribbean in the 2000s. Over the last 20 years, the footballing landscape has changed beyond recognition. There is a greater use of technology, athletes have a greater sense of
professionalism and there is a greater use of the scientific method to enhance the performance of athletes. It seems Jamaica has been left behind in the "Dark Ages" yet the JFF has been seemingly shell-shocked in the absence of success.
Data Collection Sources In order for this research project to be feasible, primary sources and secondary sources were of importance to the researcher. Many online articles were used as secondary sources to get an understanding of the research problem which served as the basis of the Literature Review. These were The German Revolution, Genes May Help but Caribbean Athletes were nurtured to success, Look At Jamaica’s Football, St. George’s College to Launch Football Academy in April. The latter two helped to identify what to look for in the research. The former two articles were used to get an idea of the potential benefits of good infrastructure on sports. The primary method of data collection was survey. The surveys were administered using questionnaires. Three different questionnaires were given to different groups: one to youth footballers (Appendix A), one to school football coaches (Appendix C) and the final to club football coaches (Appendix B). 15 players from varying schools in the Kingston Metropolitan Area were chosen for the sample for questionnaire A. 5 head coaches of prominent club football and school programs in the urban area. Players and coaches of successful and prominent teams were chosen as to give insight into how our best and brightest talents are trained and how they consider the sport. Online repositories of information of: teams and matches at international tournaments, school boy tournaments, schoolboy football winners, ranking history and international squad lists were useful to the research. The combination of these were all of great use to the research.
Presentation of Data
Duration of school football training Start July June July June June
End October November November October November
Figure 1: Average duration is July to November
Duration of club football training Start April April April April March Figure 2: Average duration is April to June
End June June June June June
More important competition 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Club Football
School Football
Figure 3 School football is more important to the players
Completion of club football training Completed 8
Non-completed 4
Figure 4: Most players completed their club football season.
Have been scouted 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Scouted
Not scouted
Figure 5: Most players have not been scouted
Seeking scouting 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Want to be scouted
Figure 6: Most players want to be scouted.
Does not want to be scouted
School Football Hours per week 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
Team 5
Figure 7: Average time spent training in school is 21 hours a week
Club Football Hours per week 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
Figure 8: Average time spent training in club is 16 hours a week
Team 5
Number of clubs 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 No gym
Singular Equipment in gym
Multiple equipment in gym
Figure 9: Most clubs are without access to gym facilities.
Number of Schools Multiple equipment in gym
Singular Equipment in gym
No gym
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Figure 10: All schools have gyms and a significant proportion has multiple equipment in gym
Number of Schools 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1 field
2 fields
3 fields
Figure 11: All schools have fields but most have only one.
Number of clubs 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1 field
2 fields
Figure 12: Most clubs have multiple fields for training.
3 fields
Number of Schools Massage
Physiotherapy
None
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Figure 14: Almost no schools have facilities to treat muscles after training
Number of clubs 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 None
Physiotherapy
Massage
Figure 15: An almost even proportion of clubs have facilities to treat muscles after training.
Analysis of Data From the data collected available, most footballers participate in both a school football program and a club football program. Even though many participated in both programs, performing well for their school is of higher importance to the player than performing well for their club. It is seen from the data that approximately 20 hours a week is spent training during the year in school. The school teams train from July to November. 16 hours a week is spent training in club football. The club football season lasts from April to June. It is also seen that there is a limited access to facilities and coaches are mostly uncertified at club football programs. Clubs have only one or two fields to their disposal for training. No clubs have access to gyms or massagers. Most schools only have a gym but not much equipment and no clubs have access to gyms, so players must sort that out for themselves, probably at a cost. Most players hope to be scouted but only 4 of the 12 have been scouted by universities or senior club teams. Most coaches believe their players will eventually play professional football but only a few are of the quality to play for Jamaica and almost none are likely to play in a major European League.
Discussion of Findings After the analysis of the data collected, many aspects of the research become more evident to the researcher. Most youth football education takes place in the school through the extracurricular facility and while most respondents participate in club football, it is on the back burner for them. This is problematic as the school football training lasts from July to November for most teams and club football lasts from April to June which leaves most footballers inactive for approximately four months of the year. This is in itself is especially problematic as that one third of the year when players are supposed to be solidifying their understanding of the fundamentals of the game. Another problem is that only 20 hours of each week is spent on practicing football. This is in stark contrast to European teams, which are at the top of the international game of football, who train upwards of 40 hours a week in football academies. Clearly, Jamaican footballers are at a disadvantage to the Europeans in terms of exposure to football education. By the same stroke of the pen, the thought that Jamaica’s underperformance in football and success in athletics is due to a genetic lottery which results in naturally talented sprinters across the board, and young males without the mentality or the physical capabilities to become successful footballers. This is false. As stated in the article by Drayton Richard, the success of the Jamaicans is mostly down to economic and social policies which allowed for Jamaican youngsters to participate in athletics. Which raises the issue of what is the infrastructure in place for football training which segues into my next point.
Club teams and school teams were seen to not have access to much facilities to much equipment or highly certified coaches. While the coaches may have gained much experience while working, without certification and training they may not be keeping with the training techniques of the time and as such, would not train their players to the best possible standard. Without access to top level facilities or enough facilities, players are not able to train cohesively as a team and able to maximise their efforts. It can also be seen that many of best talents do not believe that they can make an income playing football professionally or believe they can represent the country. This can definitely have a negative in training as players may not be as focused or as determined to make an effort to become better players. Only 2/3 of all players are actively seeking to be scouted by a club or university. This means that most players do not think of themselves progressing to an advanced level which may mean that the players do not think themselves as high quality footballers. Most coaches believe that their players will not be of the ability to play in a major European league but most will play in the national local league at some point. Many players do not think of themselves to be of the standard required for top level.
Conclusions, Limitations, and Recommendations Conclusion After analysing the data, the researcher was able to conclude that the number of home-grown players in the national senior playing squad is determined by a myriad of factors but most importantly the belief is that, generally, the players are not of international standard and will be standing as is for at least the short term. Youth football primarily takes place in school programs where there are many coaches who are uncertified. Many players participate in club football programs. But more facilities are available at the school level. Many footballers are expected to make the transition to professional football but they do not see it to be their sole income earner.
Limitations All Jamaicans could not be represented by the study as the sample consisted of coaches and schoolboys from the Kingston Metropolitan Area. Therefore, this study is only limitedly representative of the urban area rather than Jamaica as a whole. The study focused on as investments made recently could only have effects in the mid-term (6-10 years) so these considerations 3 of the 15 questionnaires that were distributed to schoolboy players were not completed so the conclusions made from the intended sample may not be necessarily representative of the intended population.
Recommendations One recommendation is that the JFF seek investment from either: the private sector, Ministry of Sport, FIFA, or CONCACAF so that it can invest in high performance academies. The JFF should seek to invest into infrastructure that houses, teaches, and trains 17-19 age old males (a footballing finishing school) as it is only through producing better players here will we have more players in top European leagues which will boost our performance in international tournaments. Another recommendation is that the JFF seek greater investment into the local leagues to attract higher quality players to the league which in turn will lead more youngsters to take football seriously as they can see it as a viable profession if they do not make it abroad and not only as a past-time. Also make it the priority of club teams in the local league to invest in youth infrastructure so that the quality of instruction they receive is of a high order. My final recommendation is that the JFF embark on a coaching qualification campaign as to raise the standards of the youth coaches. This will benefit the players as they will be exposed to more opportunities locally and abroad.
Bibliography Bailey, R. (2012, January 14). St George's College To Launch Football Academy In April. Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120114/sports/sports13.html. Becca, T. (2013, October 20). Look at Jamaica's Football. Retrieved from The Gleaner: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20131020/sports/sports3.html Drayton, R. (2012, August 15). Genes may help, but Caribbean Olympians were nurtured to success. Retrieved from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/15/caribbean-olympics-athleticsgenes Hesse, U. (2013, October 10). The German Revolution. Retrieved from ESPN FC: http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/1576952/the-german-revolution?cc=3888
Appendix Questionnaire A 1.
What is your age?
2.
Have you participated in either the ISSA Under-16 Football competition or the ISSA Under-14 football competition?
3.
Do you think it is more important to play well in schoolboy football or club football?
4.
Indicate percentage of games that you played in the last schoolboy football season.
5.
What was the duration of training for the 2013 schoolboy football season?
6.
Indicate which club competitions you have participated in.
7.
Indicate percentage of games that you participated in the last youth football season.
8.
What was the duration of training for the 2013 club football season?
9.
Did you train for the entirety of the 2013 club football season? a) If no, why not?
10. Do you practice football outside of club or school football? If yes, answer the next 3 questions. a) How many hours a week? b) How many weeks a year? c) Who do you train with? 11. Why do you play football now? 12. What grade are you in? 13. Do you intend to attend sixth form? If yes, do you hope to play football in there and why? 14. Do you intend to attend university? If yes, do you hope to play football there and why? 15. Have you been scouted by university or club? 16. Are you actively seeking to be scouted? 17. Are you pursuing professional football as a career? 18. If yes, how do you intend to do this? 19. Where do you intend to play professionally? If you do not intend to play professionally, select “No”.
Questionnaire B 1.
How long have you been coaching?
2.
What are the certifications of all coaches involved with the under-19 team?
3.
How many coaches are involved with the under-19?
4.
What training facilities do the youth players here have access to (fields, gyms (multiple equipment), multiple goals, massage centre, etc)?
5.
How many days does the most senior youth team (under-19) train weekly during the season?
6.
How many hours does this team train weekly during the season?
7.
How many players are a part of your 2013 under-19 team?
8.
How many of these players do you believe could earn a comfortable income from playing football alone if they were to pursue it in Jamaica or abroad?
Do you think players can earn an income to live a comfortable and sustainable life from playing football in Jamaica? 10. Do you think that Jamaican players in the local leagues are of quality required to qualify for a World Cup? 9.
Questionnaire C 1.
How many coaches are available for all the senior squad?
2.
What are the certifications of these coaches?
3.
How many players were a part of 2013 the senior (U-19) squad?
4.
What facilities do you have available at your school for football training (fields, gyms (multiple equipment), multiple goals, massage centre, etc)?
5.
How many members of your current squad do you think have the potential to play for Jamaica?
6.
How many members of your current squad do you think have the potential to play for a club team in a major European league (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue Un)?
7.
How many members of your current squad do you think have the potential to play for a professional European team? (Do not include players you selected in question 9)
8.
How many members of your current squad do you think will play play for Jamaica?
9.
How many members of your current squad do you think will play play for a club team in a major European league (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue Un)?
10. How many members of your current squad do you think will play for a professional European team? (Do not include players you selected in question 12.) 11. Why do you think there is a discrepancy between answers in questions 8-10 and questions 11-13 respectively? 12. How many players do you believe will earn a comfortable income from playing football alone? 13. Do you think players can earn an income to live a comfortable and sustainable life from playing football in Jamaica? 14. Do you think that Jamaican players in the local leagues are of quality required to qualify for a World Cup?
