Western Bureau:

Like Mike Henry, the CEO of Humble Lion, I do not believe the decision by the Premier League Players Association (PLCA) to revert to the play-off system, which was discarded during the René Simoes era, will make the Red Stripe Premier League any more attractive or appealing than it is at this time.

As far as I am concerned, the league, which only features clubs from four of the nation's 14 parishes, is a sad excuse for a national competition, and it is badly lacking in many respects. Due to a tame structure, the league lacks the capacity to produce high-quality players, which is what is needed for the nation's football to grow.

Personally, I believe the time has come to completely throw out the old structure and to try to establish something along the lines of the franchise system used in Twenty/20 cricket. If we could develop a franchise system, which features all 14 parishes, we would be well on the way to having a true national competition.

Traditionally weak

The county of Cornwall, which features the western parishes and St Elizabeth, could be given two franchises. The county of Middlesex, which is traditionally weak except for Clarendon, could be given two; while Surrey, with strong parishes like Kingston and St Catherine, could be given four.

Under the eight-team franchise structure, I am recommending we have the franchises aligned to companies like some of our major hotels - Red Stripe, PanCaribbean Sugar Company, China Harbour, telecommunications giants FLOW, LIME and Digicel, among other big-brand entities.

The western franchise could operate under the banner of western-based entities like the Spanish-owned Iberostar Resort and the Chinese-owned PanCaribbean Sugar Company, which would allow these companies to establish solid ties in the areas they operate. The same approach could be taken with teams and businesses in proximity to where they are located.

While I would not completely toss out the existing clubs like Harbour View, Boys' Town, Montego Bay United, and Tivoli Gardens, I would have them play in their various parish leagues and function as feeders to the franchises. This would allow the clubs to develop and sell players, which would be a way of generating income.

Recruiting players

Of course, like in cricket, the franchise would be open to recruiting players both locally and overseas. Such a situation would open the door to us having better players parading their skills on local soil, which is a key factor in trying to reignite solid spectator support and even top-quality sponsorship.

Except for being a feeding tree for the ego of some of the club owners, our clubs amount to little more than a joke, and unless we are prepared to continue to look to the United Kingdom whenever we are about to start a FIFA World Cup campaign, we must revolutionise what we now have on offer.

I am absolutely positive that with a good franchise system with high-quality local and international players - the eight-team franchise system I am suggesting - we would end up with a product we could market to the diaspora via television. Once we get into television, we would be well on the way to generating top dollars for the sport.

Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com