"The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is fully supportive of the Trinidad and Tobago football team and we would like to congratulate you all on qualifying for the World Cup," said JFF president Crenston Boxhill. "I think the majority of Jamaica is behind Trinidad and Tobago."
Boxhill ensured that his recent telephone interview with Sport Express, started on good footing. The 52-year-old administrator could do with solid ground-at home and regionally.
Last October, Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special adviser and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner claimed that Boxhill was aiding Bahrain in their ultimately unsuccessful attempt to beat T&T to a 2006 World Cup Finals place. Warner made public his rejection of an offer made by the JFF last month for a friendly international between the top two Caribbean football nations.
Boxhill denied his organisation tried to "sell out" its regional neighbour or that there was ill will at administrative level between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
"I called Warner immediately after the call from the Bahrain Federation and explained to him the proposal," said Boxhill. "We spoke of the possibility of Trinidad benefiting by sending their technical staff to see the match and (Warner) was quite supportive. But after maybe he got wrong information about their supposed training camp and big match fee."
The match was eventually scrapped amidst fears that the Jamaican population would not come out to see a Friday evening friendly against an unheralded football nation, particularly as the host nation would be without its overseas players. Jamaica insisted that Bahrain take the financial risk of the fixture but the Arab nation refused.
Boxhill took the T&TFF's disinterest towards their subsequent friendly gesture in good grace.
"We are not really disappointed (that Warner went public with his rejection)," he said. "We are more disappointed that the game didn't come off. We believe it would have generated a lot of excitement between both countries."
Boxhill is becoming quite adept at avoiding stones. In the past four years, he has faced a steady volley of confusion and discontent since succeeding former JFF boss Captain Horace Burrell.
Burrell, a CONCACAF executive and FIFA committee member, was Warner's guest in Bahrain when Trinidad and Tobago clinched an historic place at the showcase football tournament in Germany, and the pair are understood to be close friends.
Between Boxhill, Burrell and FIFA, the Jamaican football offices have lacked serenity in recent times.
One day after Boxhill's interview with Sport Express, FIFA threatened to withdraw funding for Jamaica's Goal project. The warning from the world organising body for football came three days before the JFF's
annual general meeting and in the face of rumours about a possible "no confidence" motion against the president.
It was the second successive year that Boxhill was threatened with mutiny on the eve of an AGM. This time, the threat materialised although Boxhill survived.
In an editorial on January 15, Jamaica's Observer newspaper gave its interpretation of the saga under the headline "Is this a stench from FIFA".
"Like others, we are beginning to see Machiavellian intent," stated the Observer. "It is unfortunate that his administration has not been allowed to settle, with seeming collusion of the FIFA hierarchy The administration ought not to be undermined by international guerrilla tactics, which appears to be the case."
Boxhill termed the incessant sniping at his leadership as "unheard of in Jamaican football".
"One individual is behind all of this," said Boxhill. "In Jamaica, we all know who the individual is."
Rewind three years. It is 2003 and Burrell, a charismatic businessman and retired soldier, is seeking his third term as JFF president. Under Burrell, Jamaica qualified for the 1998 World Cup tournament-the first English-speaking Caribbean nation to do so-but there was growing unrest over his administration, which was more than J$30 million in debt.
Boxhill, the national team manager during their famous 1998 qualifying campaign, was fairly gracious in summarising the work of his predecessor.
"Internationally, we were doing quite well," said Boxhill, "but I felt that enough attention was not being paid to the development of local football."
There was a hint of something more sinister troubling Burrell's administration as well when Boxhill defended his own work earlier.
"There is no corruption, embezzlement or fraud in Jamaican football now," he said. "I can proudly say that no such charges can be levelled against this present administration."
Whatever Burrell's perceived shortcomings, political naivety was not one of them.
On the eve of the November 2003 JFF elections, FIFA president Sepp Blatter turned up in Portmore to break ground on a proposed technical centre, which would be built with a US$400,000 grant from FIFA's Goal project-implented to help developing football nations.
The Observer opined that Blatter's visit "was interpreted as a kind of personal endorsement of Captain Burrell by Mr Blatter and a signal that a Burrell presidency could get things done in Zurich".
Burrell also pointed out his personal stake in Jamaican football. Although the JFF was over J$30 million in debt, Burrell insisted that near half of it was owed to him.
Regardless, Burrell lost by four votes and promptly asked to be paid off by the incumbent president.
The JFF attempted to wipe out its debt in one swoop by selling its headquarters for J$45 million, but was stunned when FIFA threatened to expel the nation as a result.
"If it is confirmed that your federation in fact sells this building as part of the response to its current financial position," wrote FIFA general secretary Urs Linsi, "please be advised that FIFA will consider this action to be a misuse of FIFA funds."
JFF treasurer Carlton Barclay, who subsequently resigned, reluctantly backed down.
"In that letter, it didn't quote any regulation that we breached, none whatsoever," Barclay told the Jamaican Star. "We wouldn't want to bring the game in disrepute. We wouldn't want to be disqualified and therefore the sale of the building is scrapped but what I am saying is there was no regulation.
"Obviously, if there was a regulation, it would have been noted and we would not think about selling the building."
It set the tone for Boxhill's term as president. The post-Burrell JFF has been threatened with FIFA expulsion, twice warned about losing its FIFA grant, struggled to get international clearance from FIFA for England-born Charlton Athletic striker Jason Eull-which was sorted out after a public intervention by Burrell-and was even fined US$5,000 by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) last February for "failing to present a copy of its national anthem" before the start of the regional tournament.
"Football is like that," said Boxhill. "There will be times when decisions go for you and times when decisions go against you."
Jamaica, of course, failed to progress to the final stage of the CONCACAF qualifying series for the 2006 World Cup Finals, but Boxhill insisted that the country was heading in the right direction. He said that the JFF was set to announce its first profit since 1998 while he pointed to success at youth and women's level as well as the 1995 Caribbean senior men's crown.
"We have made a profit of J$7.5 mil-
lion (still unaudited) which, I think, is a fantastic achievement," he said. "Going in with a debt of over $30 million in whatever currency was always going to be challenging but we have achieved quite a lot of success.
"We used locals to win the Digicel Caribbean Cup and we also won the newly organised under-18 tournament and the girls' under-20 tournament in Trinidad for the first time. Harbour View also won the Caribbean Club Championship and we introduced beach soccer to Jamaica and were even invited to Brazil for a Beach Soccer World Cup Play-off along with the US and Mexico.
"It has been a struggle, but we are doing okay."
On January 15, Boxhill got another test of his mettle as he faced down a possible revolt from local clubs with Burrell-who declared his intention to serve if asked-lurking in the corridors.
Fifty-three representatives supported a vote of no confidence in Boxhill, which were 17 less than the number required for the incumbent to step down. However, only 50 members supported the JFF president.
As Trinidad and Tobago's "Soca Warriors" head for Germany, Jamaica is trying to get its house in order for another march towards glory.
In a best case scenario, according to Boxhill, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago would travel to South Africa together in 2010.
Who knows how many battles Boxhill would have fought by then.