KSAFA looking at January restart for competitions
KINGSTON and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) President Wayne Shaw says there won’t a be a resumption of the sport in his association this calendar year.
Shaw says KSAFA had been well advanced with plans for the resumption of their competition until the surge in COVID-19 numbers last month put paid to any ideas of a restart in 2021.
“In June when the numbers were down, we submitted our protocols to the JFF and the Ministry of Health. They did get back to us and sent us something to update and send back to them. But the spike came in August, so we have not resubmitted that, because it’s not the right time right now.
“So as soon as thing settle down, we’ll be sending back additional information to the Ministry of Health and we’ll see where it goes. But my honest take is that I don’t think any football can play for the rest of this year, 2021. So, we are looking for a restart in early January,” he explained.
Shaw admitted that it has been frustrating for both his administration and the clubs within KSAFA, even though they have managed to remain somewhat active over the last few months.
“It’s frustrating, but they are understanding what is happening. We had a meeting with all the clubs [recently] and it’s really frustrating.
“Some of the clubs are doing some training with their youth [players] because some of them are also getting ready for Manning Cup, if that is going to be played. So, some of the clubs are doing some training with some small numbers of players and following the protocols.”
At the moment it remains a wait-and-see game for KSAFA as the country continues to grapple with high COVID-19 infection numbers.
“We are just waiting and seeing, but it’s very frustrating. It’s 21 months now we have not kicked a ball,” he said.
With a lack of competitive football for almost two years it is quite likely that there may be an attrition of players from the sport, but Shaw believes that if there is the numbers are likely to be small.
“I can’t honestly answer that yet until we restart, but I don’t think it’s going to affect us so much in KSAFA. The club presidents and leaders, they are still keeping in touch with their players and they are having their meetings and doing stuff with them together, so I don’t think it will be that bad,” he stated.
Shaw, who was speaking recently at the handover of football gears and equipment from English Premier League club Brentford FC to KSAFA, stated that all the things received from Brentford would be shared equally among all the clubs in his association.
“All the equipment will be given to the clubs in KSAFA. We will share it equally. This is not our first shipment from them and, as the partnership gets stronger, I know we will be getting other things from them,” he assured.
Brentford FC was promoted to the Premier League at the start of the 2021-2022 season. This is the first time that they are playing top flight football in England in 75 years.