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Offer For UK Soccer Team To Play Here

Date Published:

1954-02-18

Source:

Jamaica Gleaner

JFA Turn Down The Invitation
'Financial Implications' The Cause

JAMAICA CANNOT accept the invitation of the Trinidad Football Association to receive an English Football Association team, due to tour the Caribbean during May of this year. The JFA Council in their reply to TFA's secretary Eric James cited ''the high financial implications" and ''limited spending of our sporting public'' as the chief reasons for the association's inability to accept "so generous an offer".

JFA's acting president Winston Meeks yesterday said that with the local sporting public facing the high-costing MCC tour and Trinidad scheduled to meet Jamaica at home in an inter-colonial cricket tournament in June it would be unwise to take on another tour.

"The visit of this U.K. team to Trinidad will be the realisation of one of my fondest dreams," said Commander Charles Hayward, yesterday, "as for years the Trinidad Football Association of which I am president has endeavoured to get a team from England out to Trinidad.

Record of conduct

"I am quite sure that the decision of the FA secretary Sir Stanley Rous, and his Councillors to send this team to the Caribbean was the direct result of the brilliant performances of the recent Trinidad team to England and their untarnished conduct on and off the field," Commander Hayward added.

Whilst they were on tour in England the Trinidad team were accompanied by a former Charlton and England player Hobies as coach and F. A. Councillor Colonel Lindop as Liaison Officer.

Twenty-two members—players and officials—will comprise the touring team which will include a number of professionals. They will leave England on May 8 and make Trinidad their first call.

The English Football Association has asked that the team play eight matches during a stay of four
weeks in the West Indies. These eight games will be spread over Trinidad, British Guiana, Curacao and Surinam.

A Committee with Mr. W. 'Sonny' Brown manager of the Trinidad team to England as chairman and Mr. Eric James as secretary are drafting the tour programme for the four colonies. These provisional plans for the tour will be placed before the Council of the English F.A. on Monday, February 22.