Brown

According to an article carried in the Cayman Compass, the Cayman Islands' national newspaper, former national technical director Carl Brown has signed a contract in a similar position with that country's football association.

The article states that Brown, 56, was a Jamaican international for 10 years up to 1980, skippering them at times and then coached the national team from 1983 on and off for 23 years in five spells.

An invaluable member of the coaching side that sensationally reached the World Cup Finals in France in 1998, Brown has travelled the world and gleaned extensive knowledge from some of the world's most respected coaches.

He was assistant to Rene Simoes when the Reggae Boyz reached the World Cup Finals. Brown's loyalty and devotion to his national side was unquestionable and that kind of full commitment is one of the qualities that convinced Cayman Islands Football Association president Jeffrey Webb to sign him initially on a short-term contract.

Brown's first assignment will be with the Olympic team which comprises Under-23 players that are expected to develop into world-class players under Brown's guidance.

Brown's assistant here is Arden Rivers who said: "It's an honour to have Carl Brown as part of our coaching staff and technical director. He has a lot of experience and has already developed a new attitude in our youngsters in the few weeks he's been here.

"The biggest improvement I've noticed is the increased intensity the players have. They always worked hard before but now they're even more focused. Many of them have just come back from trials with European clubs and they're continuing their development with Coach Brown."

The article further states that Cayman may go to Honduras for a week on August 24 in preparation for the Olympic qualifiers in Cuba next month. They are in a tough group with the Cubans, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.

Rivers is very upbeat about Cayman's chances under Brown.

"Cuba will start favourites because they are the hosts and have a much bigger pool of players to draw from and they pump more resources into their sporting programmes. We're improving our work ethic and believe we can do well out there," he said.