Staying alive in the RSPL
WHEN THE University of the West Indies Football Club (UWI FC) joined top-flight football in the 2015-2016 Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) season, I was the president of the Club, and the question many asked was: Can the team stay in the league, or will it be relegated? After the first four matches, pundits argued that UWI FC would definitely be relegated. That was because making it to the RSPL is not easy, and staying there in your first year is even more difficult.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) All-Island Confederation play-off usually ends in June, and that leaves approximately eight weeks to prepare for the top flight – a potentially daunting task. This includes sourcing funding while ensuring all the administrative duties are taken care of. Sadly, many clubs are just not prepared, but here is how I would advise club officials wanting to stay in the RSPL in that first year.
Firstly, begin to establish a management team while you are in second- or third-tier football. You will need to strengthen this unit as you progress. Just having a very good coach is not enough; he or she will need one or two assistants, a physiotherapist, and a competent team manager to start with, all guided by a club president, chairman and treasurer. Later, you can add roles like assistant manager, equipment manager, team doctor, and club secretar y. These persons will help to build the team, making the players feel comfortable and able to perform to the best of their ability.
After UWI FC’s fourth match of the 20152016 season, there were suggestions that I, as the then president, should terminate the contract of the coach, which I didn’t do. A move like that is always the easy way out, but most often, not the best solution. Too often we adjust the coaching regime without first analysing the management systems that support the technical team. So my suggestion is to always look at the structure and management of the club and tweak those first. Without nutrition, physiotherapy, massage therapy, and sport psychology, most players won’t perform at their optimal level. There will be the argument that most clubs struggle to pay players, much less support personnel. However, you have to strike a balance.
The biggest challenge for first-timers is limited financial support. The Premier League Clubs Association will disburse between J$200,000 and $450,000 per month to clubs over the seven- to eight-month competition period as earnings from sponsorship. However, club expenditure can start at around J$1.3 million each month, with most of that going to salaries. Club administrators need to consider financial options such as sponsorship and donations very early as gate receipts are minimal for some clubs and will only be sufficient to cover miscellaneous costs immediately after matches.
Finally, most first-timers believe that the players who have taken them to the Premier League cannot help them to survive there. Very often, clubs feel that their survival lies in recruiting several players at a substantial initial cost. They then struggle to pay these players during the season. Just remember that in 2015-2016, UWI FC and Portmore United used mostly those players from their campaign on the road to Premier League, and are still in the league three years later. Additionally, just this season, Cavaliers have used most of the players from their campaign and are sitting safe in a play-off spot. What that does is show your players that you have confidence in them. They will have that fire and joy knowing they helped to bring the team this far, and they will want to show that they belong in the top flight. So adding maybe four new players in a squad of 30 is fine. Jamalco FC and Marvely/Hughenden realised the hard way that replenishing the stock so early can lead to immediate demotion.
Top-flight football is not easy to navigate because the resources – human, facilities, and financial – are woefully inadequate. However, I believe that with advanced planning, the development of a businesslike structure, and working closely with the communities, first-timers can stay in the league longer than one year. This kind of planning is crucial because the financial investment in an initial year and lack of immediate return can throw the club into serious debt.
“Just remember that in 2015-2016, UWI FC and Portmore United used mostly those players from their campaign on the road to Premier League, and are still in the league three years later.”