IN THE wake of World Cup elimination, the Reggae Boyz have made an important step in keeping football viable here by clearing the first hurdle and winning their group and a place among the final four in the Digicel Caribbean Championships.

This semi-final position has guaranteed the country participation in the Gold Cup, CONCACAF's flagship tournament, which will be played in the United States next year and involves world-class teams such as Mexico and the US.

However, the rebuilding phase does not stop there and anything but the title in this regional cham-pionship will only serve to further hinder the sport, which took a heavy beating with World Cup failure through sponsorship, gate receipts and top-quality football, the main money spinners for the overall football programme, among other things.

Not an easy task

The Boyz' task of winning is not as easy as it appears with teams like Guadeloupe and Cuba, countries that have traditionally done well in the sport, and emerging Grenada hungry to etch their names on the trophy as well.

Additionally, no one should take it for granted that because the Jamaicans are hosting the tournament, they are going to win.

One only has to remember 1993 when Jamaica hosted the tournament - then, the Shell Caribbean Cup - and advanced to the final against Martinique.

The Jamaica team entered the Caribbean competition on a high, after its third-place finish in the Gold Cup. Before that tournament, and within that period, Jamaica had gotten some sound beatings from the Central American teams.

However, they turned the corner in that 1993 tournament and registered what was then a highly-thought-of 3-1 win over Honduras.

Certainly, it was no mean feat in a team with arguably some of Jamaica's best players ever, in Paul 'Tegat' Davis, Winston 'Twinny Bugs' Anglin, Anthony 'Badas' Corbett, Walter Boyd, Hector Wright, Barrington 'Cobra' Gaynor and Warren Barrett standing between the sticks. And it was coached by Carl Brown.

That team dispatched a high-calibre Trinidad and Tobago team - with the likes of Russell Latapy, Leonson Lewis and Dwight Yorke - 2-1 in the semi-finals, but eventually lost the final (in a penalty shootout) in pouring rain against a Martinique team they were expected to trample at the National Stadium.

In those days, the countries in the region fielded virtually their best teams in Caribbean competition as it was not customary for the top players to be offered contracts by clubs outside the region, especially in Europe.

Overseas talent

Such change has been greatly facilitated by the exposure granted to many of these players through the growth and exposure that came with it, of the regional tournament, as it formalised annual football compe-tition among the senior teams of the Caribbean.

Now, the best football talent in the region, especially from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, are benefitting with their best players shouldering it out with those of the world on a day-to-day basis.

To an extent, it has affected the chances of those two in this competition because they can't access their most powerful team.

This fact, though, must not be used to discredit improvements by other regional countries, much of which is due to the formalised activity through this annual competition.

Testament to this is Grenada's emergence and advance to this semi-final stage, as well as its competitiveness, likewise that of Antigua/Barbuda in the finals.

Of the others, Cuba have made it to the World Cup and produced quality athletes who are not similarly exposed to professional opportunities because of a cultured society principled on a particular political philosophy that guides its socio-economic path.

Guadeloupe take their cue from the football-strong nation that governs them, France.

So, the Reggae Boyz, having cleared one major hurdle by qualifying for the Gold Cup, have no room for complacency and must scale the other obstacles and win the Caribbean championship to maintain their stride and to keep the country's football on smooth path to recovery.