ESPN analyst and former Reggae Boy Robbie Earle (left) demonstrates ball control to some of the 100 youngsters from western Jamaica

Andre Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Former Reggae Boyz striker Robert 'Robbie' Earle, the man who scored Jamaica's first goal at the FIFA World Cup Finals in a game against Croatia in 1998, believes that a lack of strong on-the-field leadership may have contributed to Jamaica's inability to return to the heights of the 1998 campaign.

Earle, who now works as a football analyst for international sports network ESPN and is among the football talent on board the Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, for ESPN's Super Bowl at sea Western Caribbean cruise, pointed to the importance of having natural leaders on the field. He also called on greater involvement from the country's overseas-based players.

"It's important that the players, who do go abroad and play, come back and become good leaders, become good mentors for the younger players," said Earle who also runs a football academy in California, USA, where he now resides.

Earle, who had spent years creating a highly respectable career in the British leagues for teams like Wimbledon and Port Vale, joined Jamaica's 1998 FIFA World Cup push towards the latter stages, after he was approached by then technical director Rene Simoes and Jamaica Football Federation president Captain Horace Burrell.

native team

Born in England, the striker had actually received an earlier call-up to his native team, but having never actually played a game for England, was still eligible to represent the island because of his heritage.

Earle pointed to the maturity and responsibility displayed by many of his peers back in the days and believes that he enjoyed a particular mentorship and guidance that is lacking among the current crop of national players.

"I was fortunate to have the likes of Warren Barrett, Peter Cargill, Durrant Brown and Theodore Whitmore on my team," Earle said.

"Some really good guys who were also like guiding figures and it's important that these players nowadays who have more experience, come back to the programme and accept this responsibility, because it's important for the development of the next generation."

Earle, who was forced to leave the game in 2000 after rupturing his pancreas during a reserve game for Wimbledon, believes that there is still a lot of talent coming out of Jamaica but also feels that greater focus must be shown towards the technical development of the local players and their tactical discipline.

"I still think that there is a huge talent pool coming out of Jamaica, you just have to look at other sports to see that there is a huge athletic base. There is still a lot of room for technical and tactical work but I think the Caribbean in general is still a hotbed for talent," Earle noted.

"People like Ricardo Fuller, Ricardo Gardner and Ian Goodison have had really good careers in England and it would be great to see other kids come over and doing the same," he added.