THE FUTURE of Jamaica's Young Reggae Boyz appearance at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt this year could be in the hands of the Sports Development Foundation (SDF).

Jamaica's Under-20s were last week drawn in Group A, alongside the United States, El Salvador and the winners of the play-off between Honduras and St Vincent, for the upcoming CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship and a top two finish will take them in Egypt for the World Cup, which runs from September 25 to October 16.

However, according to Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell, the SDF could be the team's real saviour in this time of financial crisis.

"We have made an approach to the SDF and, again, I want to take time out to thank Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, chairman of SDF, David Mais and the entire membership of the SDF, who we are banking on to give financial assistance to this programme," Burrell said.

"I am convinced that all concerned are cognisant of the need to support this unit as this unit is going to form the nucleus of the team which takes the field for qualification in the 2014 World Cup finals and, therefore, we are going to start working now," he said.

Last week, when the team returned from St Vincent and the Grenadines where they defeated the hosts 2-0 to take the Caribbean Football Union title and qualify for the CONCACAF Championships, Burrell appealed to the general public for support.

cash-strapped

The JFF boss, while expressing satisfaction with the feat, made it clear that financial assistance will be crucial for the cash-strapped organisation if the team is to qualify for the World Cup.

"Getting the necessary financial support to allow this very talented group to play a series of friendly internationals before the final phase of the tournament, which commences in Trinidad in March, will be very important," said Burrell.

"We are calling on all to give whatever support they can to help us to prepare this squad properly."

Asked how much he expects the programme to cost, Burrell said, "It's very difficult to establish a budget when you are not sure of your income", but said with the federation at zero dollars, any help would be appreciated.

Burrell stressed: "The new JFF always has as its primary objective the development of football in Jamaica at all levels and, with this objective in mind, we are very happy our Under-20 team has been able to qualify for the final round of this most important tournament."

- Anthony Foster