Jamaica’s National Under-17 Reggae Boyz are the latest to suffer from the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) continued bungling which denied 14 members of the squad boarding their flight out of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on Thursday.
According to new JFF General Secretary Dennis Chung, the affected players were denied boarding the plane because of the absence of travel exemption letters from the host country Guatemala.
The footballers are scheduled to vie for one of four places at the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup later this year in Peru.
Jamaica are drawn in a group with Cuba, whom they open against on Sunday,
“Fourteen of them did not make the flight today (Thursday) because, although they had received the exemption to travel, the exemption letter came in late, so they did not get to make it on the flight,” explained Chung.
Six members of the team with travel documents to enter the United States of America, made the flight to Panama ahead of their connection to Guatemala.
The Jamaicans are drawn on Group C alongside Cuba, Costa Rica, and Guadeloupe. They open against Cuba on Sunday.
The JFF general secretary had stated that the JFF was working to ensure that the remaining 14 players are placed on a plane to Guatemala on Friday.
However, later Thursday evening, the JFF appeared more assertive in disclosing that it had worked through all the issues which led to the 14 players missing the flight.
It said the players are scheduled to depart the island at 3:00 p.m. Friday and are expected to arrive in Guatemala by 10:00 p.m.
The JFF’s recent history relating to team travel leaves a lot to be desired.
Last year the National Senior Women’s team was stranded in Houston, Texas, on their way home from a World Cup Qualifier in Monterrey, Mexico.
And shortly before that episode with the ladies, the Senior Reggae Boyz were stranded in Suriname after a Nations League game, forcing a private citizen to use his credit card to get the players home.
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