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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Reno FC plans to go ahead with move to St Elizabeth despite FA's concerns</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
Saturday, October 21, 2006
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>SAV-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - Despite the objections of the Westmoreland Football Association (WFA), former three-time National Premier League (NPL) champions Reno FC will go ahead with their sixth round NPL game against Naggo Head at STETHS in Santa Cruz tomorrow.<P class=StoryText align=justify>When asked yesterday where the game will be played, Reno's president, Ransford Malcolm, said simply, "STETHS".
The decision by the club has not gone down well with the WFA and president Everton Tomlinson said yesterday the club has treated his association with "lack of respect".<P class=StoryText align=justify>He said the club had gone behind their backs and made all the arrangements to move their home games to St Elizabeth over issues that can easily be resolved.
Reno is arguing that the field at Frome has been damaged by a heavy tractor that was used to cut it recently and it will need some time to be fixed. Malcolm said the field was damaged some time in early October just prior to the game against Boys' Town and had left a large trench on the side of the pitch towards the stands.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He explained that the groundsmen were using the large tractor to cut the outskirts of the canefield nearby and decided to use it to cut the field as well. However, since rain had fallen recently and the ground was soft, the tyres sank into the ground and damaged the playing surface.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Due to this, the club decided to use the STETHS grounds that recently underwent a multi-million dollar refurbishing and which was listed on their registration with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) as their alternative ground.
Malcolm agreed with Tomlinson that the general state of the field this season was far superior to what it was in the past, but he said the recent "accident" had forced the club to play their next few home games away until the field is fixed.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He reiterated what head coach Wendell Downswell said Thursday that the club did not intend to relocate permanently to St Elizabeth, but only until the problem at Frome was fixed.
Throwing soil in the divots, he said, was not the solution to the problem. Rather, he said, they needed to fix the problem once and for all and not just try to patch it up.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Burchell Gibson, the general secretary of the JFF, told Sporting World yesterday that the club might not even need the permission of the WFA to play their games in St Elizabeth.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Gibson said: "It is the responsibility of clubs to advise the JFF of the alternative venue and to seek permission from both parish associations", but he asked, "can they go and play? That is the trick question. Nothing can stop them from going there and playing."
Gibson explained that for example if the club was kicked out of the venue for whatever reason, the president or the FA could not stop them from playing their home game at a nearby facility.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He outlined the JFF's involvement in the issue saying the association received an advisory from Reno FC Wednesday afternoon, stating the plan to use STETHS.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The JFF responded Thursday by telling Reno that according to protocol, the club needed agreements from both parish associations.
Yesterday, he said Reno provided a letter from the St Elizabeth FA granting them permission, and he advised the JFF's Competitions Department to send an inspection team to Santa Cruz to ensure the facility was up to JFF's NPL standards.
Gibson said Frome had been inspected in the pre-season and passed, but learnt there had been serious
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
Saturday, October 21, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>SAV-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - Despite the objections of the Westmoreland Football Association (WFA), former three-time National Premier League (NPL) champions Reno FC will go ahead with their sixth round NPL game against Naggo Head at STETHS in Santa Cruz tomorrow.<P class=StoryText align=justify>When asked yesterday where the game will be played, Reno's president, Ransford Malcolm, said simply, "STETHS".
The decision by the club has not gone down well with the WFA and president Everton Tomlinson said yesterday the club has treated his association with "lack of respect".<P class=StoryText align=justify>He said the club had gone behind their backs and made all the arrangements to move their home games to St Elizabeth over issues that can easily be resolved.
Reno is arguing that the field at Frome has been damaged by a heavy tractor that was used to cut it recently and it will need some time to be fixed. Malcolm said the field was damaged some time in early October just prior to the game against Boys' Town and had left a large trench on the side of the pitch towards the stands.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He explained that the groundsmen were using the large tractor to cut the outskirts of the canefield nearby and decided to use it to cut the field as well. However, since rain had fallen recently and the ground was soft, the tyres sank into the ground and damaged the playing surface.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Due to this, the club decided to use the STETHS grounds that recently underwent a multi-million dollar refurbishing and which was listed on their registration with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) as their alternative ground.
Malcolm agreed with Tomlinson that the general state of the field this season was far superior to what it was in the past, but he said the recent "accident" had forced the club to play their next few home games away until the field is fixed.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He reiterated what head coach Wendell Downswell said Thursday that the club did not intend to relocate permanently to St Elizabeth, but only until the problem at Frome was fixed.
Throwing soil in the divots, he said, was not the solution to the problem. Rather, he said, they needed to fix the problem once and for all and not just try to patch it up.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Burchell Gibson, the general secretary of the JFF, told Sporting World yesterday that the club might not even need the permission of the WFA to play their games in St Elizabeth.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Gibson said: "It is the responsibility of clubs to advise the JFF of the alternative venue and to seek permission from both parish associations", but he asked, "can they go and play? That is the trick question. Nothing can stop them from going there and playing."
Gibson explained that for example if the club was kicked out of the venue for whatever reason, the president or the FA could not stop them from playing their home game at a nearby facility.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He outlined the JFF's involvement in the issue saying the association received an advisory from Reno FC Wednesday afternoon, stating the plan to use STETHS.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The JFF responded Thursday by telling Reno that according to protocol, the club needed agreements from both parish associations.
Yesterday, he said Reno provided a letter from the St Elizabeth FA granting them permission, and he advised the JFF's Competitions Department to send an inspection team to Santa Cruz to ensure the facility was up to JFF's NPL standards.
Gibson said Frome had been inspected in the pre-season and passed, but learnt there had been serious