Thursday 11 April 2019, 16:46

Inaugurating new football grounds in Jamaica with FIFA Forward

  • A state-of-the-art, full-size artificial turf pitch was inaugurated at JFF's headquarters

  • All players will be able to use the field to train and prepare for international competitions

  • Funds allocated as part of FIFA Forward 2.0

Situated at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on the grounds of the University of the West Indies, a new artificial pitch was installed at the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) headquarters by a Costa Rican-based company contracted by FIFA to carry out the project.

The inauguration of the new infrastructure took place on 19 March 2019 in the presence of the President of the JFF Michael Ricketts and FIFA development representatives for Africa and the Caribbean region. During the ceremony the head of the Jamaican member association expressed that their ambition is to put up at least one turf field per year for the next four years, and to cover all the regions of the Caribbean island, guaranteeing the best infrastructures for every player, even in the most remote areas.

"This will certainly prepare us for international tournaments, because overseas, especially our U-17s, would encounter this kind of surface," said Ricketts. "So no longer will they go (to other countries) not having played on an artificial surface before. So this certainly must be a catalyst for our youngsters as they can now prepare on the turf surface. I always thought that if you don't have proper surfaces then you are not going to make good players, so this I am sure will give us an opportunity to enhance quality and harness the talent of youngsters with ability and make them into proper players."

With the new artificial turf pitch, the JFF will be able to organise regional and international competitions, which undoubtedly represents a step forward towards improved football development in the Caribbean.