Western Bureau:

With the disappointment of Jamaica's failure to qualify for the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil still fresh in the minds of ardent local football fans, it would appear the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is not about to be caught napping, heading into the 2018 edition of the tournament in Russia.

Following the recent reappointment of German Winifried Schaefer as Reggae Boyz head coach, the federation has taken the bold decision to fill the various coaching positions, spanning all age groups and gender, which essentially means all its bases are covered moving forward.

Whereas I applaud all the various appointments, especially the decision to keep former senior team head coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore in the programme, albeit at the Under-20 level, the appointment I find most interesting is that of Vin Blaine as director of football.

As far as I am concerned, Blaine's position is, by far, the most important because it will essentially decide the type of platform to be laid for the long-term development of national football, from the grassroots level to national senior team.

PI am delighted with the creation of the director of football position. t is my hope that Blaine will be bold, creative and innovative. The fact is Jamaica's football is riddled with deficiencies, which need to be corrected with great urgency if we are to halt the stagnation that has overtaken the sport.

I believe as part of his mandate to restructure national football, Blaine will move swiftly to revise the structure of programmes at the parish and confederation levels, which, to my mind, have been undermining true development because of an emphasis on quantity instead of quality.

In using the St James FA as example, I don't believe there should be more than 10 teams participating in senior club competitions, because there are not enough good players around to make such an endeavour viable.

I believe rather than seeking to cater to all who want to play senior football, we should instead be seeking to cream off the best players and put them in a strong competition, which would force them to perform if they hope to succeed. Those not good enough to get into the structure, could get into administration, officiating or coaching.

In regard to the confederation structure, I don't believe the way it is being used in western Jamaica makes any sense. The teams are not allowed to participate in their various parish leagues and, as a consequence, the parishes are being robbed of their best teams and players, while steadily losing identity.

To compound the situation, the western confederation super league is unattractive, lacks spectator appeal and is clearly not promoting development. At most games, especially in the early rounds, there are usually more players than spectators, which gives the whole affair a farcical look.

If Blaine can fix the many and varied weaknesses at the parish and confederation levels, I strongly believe before long Jamaica should have a solid enough base to export high-quality players to the national programme.

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