Jamaican football star Leon Bailey has announced a break from the national team and also voiced concerns about the team’s operations, citing a lack of professionalism within the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
The Aston Villa winger expressed frustration with the JFF’s handling of basic matters such as equipment, travel arrangements, and other administrative issues.
Speaking candidly on the Let’s Be Honest podcast this week, Bailey didn’t mince words when criticizing the federation’s shortcomings. He highlighted difficulties, including the simple task of acquiring proper training attire.
“A lot of people don’t know that most of the time, I book my own flights to come and represent Jamaica because they are very unprofessional,” explained Bailey. “You’re getting your flight details [at] 11 p.m. to travel the next day. [The JFF] doesn’t pay us. I can’t remember the last time I received a dollar from the national team. It’s very unprofessional, in ways you can’t even imagine.”
“You’re turning up and they don’t have equipment for you. You’ll go and they’ll only have one shirt for you, and you have to find shorts,” said a bemused Bailey. “Players turn up to games and it’s a women’s shirt they print out for them to wear. It’s ridiculous and they don’t know how to operate.”
Bailey said that he does not receive pay from the Jamaica national team, but has only requested that they provide him with two things: a proper flight and a room to himself.
“It’s two things I’ve always asked them for, and every time, I can’t get it. You have people booking flights for me and sending me from England to Jamaica with three different stops,” insisted Bailey. “All I ask for is a proper flight and a room by myself, and I can’t get that. If I don’t go the national team, I can go on my vacation and I can live good.”
Interview follows Bailey’s suspension
The interview comes just a week after Reggae Boyz Head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson omitted Leon Bailey from the Jamaica senior national football squad for the March international break.
The JFF announced Bailey was “suspended for this camp for breaking curfew in the last camp.”
Bailey acknowledged breaking team rules, but he disagreed with Hallgrímsson’s public announcement of the news.
“I did break curfew, but that’s normal. Every player does that,” said Bailey, who added that the suspension was not so much of a big deal in and of itself as it was just the last straw. “It’s just the way how it was presented that I didn’t like.
“[Hallgrímsson] did say to me that he wasn’t going to invite me to the next camp but, way before this happened, I always had it in my head that this is too much on my plate when it comes to the national team, and I was really going to take a break from it, and then [the suspension] just tipped off everything … I felt that was really harsh and it just said to me that me being in the national team right now, it really drains my energy a lot.”
Bailey said that while he loves Jamaica and is proud to represent the country, he questions whether he can be the change that the national team and organization needs to improve for future generations.
