Vin Blaine Cancels Florida Jamaica Talent Camp After JFF Disputes Link

Former Reggae Girlz coach Vin Blaine has cancelled a two-day player identification activity in Florida that was intended for Jamaican diaspora footballers and had been planned for Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Blaine, who previously led Harbour View to Jamaica Premier League success and also served as the Jamaica Football Federation's director of football, has lived in the United States in recent years. He now operates Game Changer Football Academy, which was behind the proposed event.

According to Blaine, his increased contact with players of Jamaican heritage in the American football system led him to put the exercise together. He said the plan was to give national under-20 coach Rodolph Austin, who had been expected to be in the area, a chance to assess players who could strengthen Jamaica's squad ahead of the final round of FIFA Youth World Cup qualifiers.

The issue developed after promotional material described the activity as a 'Jamaica National Team Identification' event and said players would be assessed for possible entry into Jamaica's national team player pool. The JFF soon moved to separate itself from the camp.

In a statement, the federation said it had no affiliation, association or role in organising, marketing or staging the exercise.

The JFF also said it values diaspora talent and understands how important overseas-based eligible players are to the national programme's progress. "Talent identification remains a critical component of our player- development strategy, and the JFF remains committed to providing opportunities for eligible players both locally and overseas," the federation said.

However, the organisation added that any official scouting activity or identification camp run by the JFF is announced only through its approved platforms, including its website and verified social media pages.

"We encourage members of the public to verify the authenticity of any programme or event claiming an association with the JFF before registering or participating," the statement added.

JFF General Secretary Gregory Daley said the federation could not lend support to an activity it neither knew about nor helped to plan because of possible liability exposure.

Daley said the federation had also heard that parents were being asked to help cover costs connected to the event.

"This was supposed to be a scouting exercise, but it cannot be done if it is not organised through the JFF. Anything can happen that can be a liability to us. We knew nothing about the planning," Daley said.

"I do not know how true it is, but immediately after we saw the advert on social media, we heard parents were being asked to contribute.

"So we could not associate ourselves with it. I told them to distance ourselves from it because we knew nothing about it."

Blaine rejected any suggestion that the camp involved charges to the federation or to parents. He said the activity was not designed to make money and would not have brought him any personal financial return.

"It was not a commercial venture for me. Everything was free for the players. The letter to the players' parents consists of time, place, and what they should do when they come," Blaine said.

He called the federation's response "disappointing and unnecessary". Blaine accepted that, looking back, the wording used in the advertisement may have created the impression that the JFF was involved, but he argued that the matter could have been cleared up privately.

"If that created confusion, I accept responsibility for that unintended implication. However, that clarification hardly justifies the federation issuing a public press release implying impropriety, instead of simply contacting me directly. A single telephone call or email could have resolved any misunderstanding within minutes," he said.

"The JFF might be right, but I never used the JFF's name for anything, and this was in the interest of the programme, but if you see something sent out by Vin Blaine and you have a concern, just call me," Blaine added.

Daley, however, said Blaine should have made contact with the federation before the event was promoted.

"Why couldn't he call and tell us he was doing this? A phone call could not have rectified everything at the back end. We only knew about it a couple of days after the under-20s left," Daley said.

"We couldn't give an account. I don't think anybody from the JFF could have answered even one question as it relates to that event.

"So it's about how this thing came up. We can't say that we are with it and then when we have a liability, we say we are not. We couldn't go ahead and run with it like that without proper information," Daley said.

Blaine maintained that the federation would not have been responsible if anything had gone wrong, saying the advertisement did not state that the camp was being staged in association with the JFF. He also said he fully respects football's governing body in Jamaica.