The Jamaican National Team players backed down from their strike early this morning after refusing to train Monday evening due to compensation issues. The players felt that they deserved more money for competing in the tournament, but the Jamaican Football Federation was unable to grant them that.
The players, training staff, and head coach Winfried Schafer were scheduled to depart from the Ayres Hotel in Hawthorne, California at 6:30 PM for a 7:00 PM training session, but the players refused to board the bus and boycotted the session due to feeling that they have not been sufficiently compensated to take part in the tournament.
However, JFF president Captain Horace Burrell was able to resolve the situation during a meeting with the players which occurred during the early this morning. In this meeting, he outlined what the JFF would have to face in terms of sanctions which he believed would derail the development of Jamaican soccer, and the players agreed to back down from their strike.
The main reason for the strike had been over the terms of the contract between the JFF and its players. The renumeration contract they had been operating under was valid from 2010-2014, but the players were unwilling to accept those terms going forward. The strike, as well as the meeting which followed the boycotted training session, were revealed by Burrell to be part of an ongoing negotiation process, and that both sides have been working toward a new agreement that will be valid through the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
According to Burrell, the players were unwilling to accept an agreement under which 100 percent of the federation’s Gold Cup earnings would be offered up to the team, of which the players would be guaranteed eighty percent. After a series of offers and counter-offers as part of a set of negotiations spanning from the beginning of the Copa America to now, a satisfactory agreement has been reached that will be officially signed and put into place before the team’s World Cup qualifying matches in September.
Schafer remarked that the strike action wasn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary for international soccer.
“It is normal in football in all countries,” said the German. “It is normal, the players fight for the money and the federation does what the federation can do.”
It seems that what the Jamaican Football Federation was able to do was remind the players of their responsibility to football in their home country, and to make sure it continues to develop.
“The consequences would have been severe,” said Burrell, “There would have been sanctions which would have affected football development in Jamaica for years to come.
“I commend the players for the good sense that prevailed because there would have been sanctions all round to the players, to the federation, and our football development on a whole. But I continue to say all is well that ends well and good sense prevailed on the part of the players and they will be getting back to work tomorrow.”
Burrell also added that there will not be any consequences faced by the team due to this being an issue that occurred and was solved before the beginning of the tournament.
Though the JFF and it’s players were able to come to an agreement, it remains to be seen whether or not Burrell’s “All is well that ends well” philosophy will hold true for the Reggae Boyz during this tournament. While player strikes are not necessarily uncommon, distractions and animosity can ruin a team’s chances at an international tournament. After competing in the Copa America, the Jamaicans will have to add this to their list of obstacles to overcome, which undoubtedly also includes fatigue and thousands of miles of travel.
After their opening Group B match against a tough Costa Rica on July 8, the Reggae Boyz face Canada on July 11, followed by their final group stage match against El Salvador on July 14.
For a full preview of Gold Cup Group B, as well as an in-depth look at story lines behind the teams and players of the tournament, head here.
Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
