Tony Becca
JAMAICA'S FAILURE to make it to the second round of the World Cup qualifying tournament has left the nation, most of it and definitely so the football fraternity, sad and disappointed.
Listening to the reaction of the fans during the final minutes of the match against the United States, listening to other fans after the final whistle, and listening to and reading what the likes of coach Sebastiao Lazaroni and president Crenston Boxhill had to say about Jamaica's failure to move on and to keep the dream alive, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
There were some, however, to whom it did not matter - those who, even in this day and age of professionalism, believe that football is still simply a game. In fact, there was at least one man who was happy, very happy, that Jamaica had failed to make it to the next round.
Regardless of the sport, be it cricket, football or track and field, regardless of the result, this man, an elderly man who loves sport, has always called me after an event to share his views.
On Thursday morning, bright and early, he was on the telephone, and after sharing his opinion as to the reasons for Jamaica's failure to qualify, he proceeded to say how happy he was with what had happened.
How can you say that?
VERY SIMPLE
"Well, Tony, it is simple - very simple. At least we can now deal with what is important, really important. We can now spend the rest of the money that we would have spent on football on things that are more important to the society - to the people."
According to my friend, as much as he loves sport, as much as he loves football, he finds it unacceptable that a poor country like Jamaica can spend so much money on football, can pay so much money to a coach, and can spend so much money flying overseas players into and out of Jamaica regularly when it cannot pay teachers and nurses a proper salary and when there are people without shelter, without food and without medical care.
In many respects, he is right.
When one considers the amount of money being spent on sport in this country, when one looks at the emphasis placed on sports in comparison to that placed on learning in many schools, and when one travels the country and sees the lack of basic facilities in many schools and in many communities, it is difficult not to agree.
Sport, however, plays an important role in every civilised society, and regardless of how poor it is, a country, a government, has an obligation to encourage participation - to provide facilities, coaches, etc., etc.
Lest we forget, in many societies, rich or poor, sport is the way out or a way out for many; lest we forget, sport is important to health - to the physical well being of young people; lest we forget, success in sport, and particularly so in poor countries, is important to the people - to the national psyche; and lest we forget, sport builds character because it teaches good disciplines.
In a country like Jamaica, a country with a history of top-class performances and world-beaters, a country with magic to its name right around the world, sport could be and should be a priority.
Jamaica's record in sport is such, that if properly used, if properly marketed, sport could become a big money earner - so big that it could bring in the kind of money that could assist the government in funding, among other things, its housing, health and education programmes.
How can sport bring money, big money, into Jamaica?
As some have been suggesting for a long, long time, as some are now suggesting with World Cup cricket on the way, it can be done by linking sport with tourism - by inviting the world to come and spend time not only in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, not only, despite the crazy few, in the company of some of the friendliest people in the world, but also in the little country that has produced some of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen in the world.
When that, is done, every cent spent on sport will be money well spent - for the simple reason that tourists, particularly Europeans who continue to marvel at Jamaica's success and who want to know what is the secret, will come to Jamaica in plane-loads after plane-loads.
