The Jamaica Football Federation is mourning the death of Maurice ‘Danny’ Lyn, the owner and former coach of Constant Spring FC, who died today after a battle with cancer at the age of 72.

For more than three decades Lyn was a major player in the Jamaican football community. He was born in Hong Kong before his family migrated to Jamaica coached Constant Spring to several Major League in the 1987/’88, ‘90/91 and ‘92/’93 seasons. Constant Spring won a fourth title during the 2017/’18 season. The team also won the inaugural Jackie Bell Knockout competition in the 1987/88 season.

Lyn also led the club to its only Premier League final during the 1994/’95 season where they lost 1-0 to Reno in the final. Constant Spring also won the only edition of the National ‘A’ League in 1999/2000.

In 2011, Lyn was awarded the Abe Alexander Award from the Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) for outstanding contribution to local football.

The JFF said Lyn was committed to local football.

“Danny Lyn, as he was widely known, gave his heart and his life to the sport he loved. He was active in every area of the sport, although coaching and mentoring were his passion,” said the JFF in a statement today.

“Danny contributed to the success and livelihood of countless youngsters over many years. The Constant Spring Football Club and the Constant Spring Football Field stand as monuments to his support of the beautiful game.

“His close association with JFF affiliates the Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association and the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association kept football alive and kicking day and night. We are forever indebted to him.

“The JFF through President Mr Michael Ricketts conveys sincerest condolences to his family; close friends and the KSAFA family.”

News of Lyn’s death drew reaction from several members of the coaching fraternity.

Among them, was Andrew Price, who coaches the Humble Lion Football Club in Jamaica’s Premier League. As a student, Price played for St George’s College, which was also Lyn’s alma mater.

“His contribution to the development of football in Jamaica cannot be quantified. We have lost a sterling contributor to football in this country,” said Price, who is also a member of the history-making Reggae Girlz coaching staff. “A man who changed many lives. Walk good Knight. We are much the richer to have shared your life with us. RIP Danny Lyn.”

National U23 Coach Donovan Duckie was also devastated by the news.

“As a boy, I had such passion for coaching, so I would always take the bus to see Constant Spring FC play in the National Premier League.  I never missed a word you spoke at half-time. Sleep well coach. My heart is saddened,” Duckie said in a post on Facebook.

Harbour View Football Club, in a statement on their Facebook page, shed some light on Lyn’s role in the formation of Jamaica’s Premier League.

“Condolences on the passing of our good friend, football stalwart and Constant Spring FC co-owner Maurice 'Danny' Lyn. We lose yet another 'Father-Figure' of the local game, who gave his all to grow the game through his club, KSAFA with the JFF,” said the statement.

 “In 1998, Danny helped to host the first real meeting of the newly envisioned Premier League Clubs, at "The Fish Place" across the road from his CSFC then the restaurant of Vin Blaine.

 Montego Bay duo of Seba United's Bruce Gaynor and Wadadah FC's benefactor, Gene Gray, (now deceased) travelled into Kingston to meet with Carvel Stewart (HVFC), Bradley Stewart (Hazard Utd), Dennis Gordon (White Horses FC), and Dawn Spence-Heron (Tivoli Gardens FC).

Rest in Peace Danny, your deeds were well planted for growth.”

The West Indies suffered a humiliating six-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the first of three ODI’s today, going down by six wickets with 97 balls to spare in the match played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Bengaluru FC coach Naushad Moosa insists the club parted ways with Jamaica international Deshorn Brown in order to allow the player to search for more playing time.

The 30-year-old forward recently completed a move to top-flight Indian team NorthEast United, away from Bengaluru, who he joined last year on a one-and-a-half-year deal.  Brown scored three goals in 17 appearances and increasingly found first-team football hard to come by.  

Moosa replaced outgoing coach Carles Cuadrat, as the club looks to begin a rebuilding process, that has seen the former B-team coach step up as head coach.

"When you talk about Brown, as a club we want to help the player. Now if you see Ajay (Chhetri), he is getting playing opportunities with East Bengal. Brown was not getting enough playing time (at Bengaluru). So, for his development, we should allow him to go and play [elsewhere]. We thought we should help him get more playing time," Moosa said.

Brown will be looking to regain his goalscoring form with the Highlanders who will be without Kwesi Appiah who is set to miss the rest of the season with an injury.  The Jamaican has previously played for the likes of DC United and Colorado Rapids.  It is hoped will be able to link up with Idrissa Sylla and Luis Machado. 

Brown has played 14 games for Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz since making his debut in 2013.

Jamaica track and field star, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, does not anticipate that age will be a barrier to achieving success when the 2021 Olympics finally rolls around.

 At 34, Fraser-Pryce will be one of the oldest women lined up to face the starter's gun, should the event eventually be staged in Tokyo later this year.  The 32^nd Olympiad was initially slated to be staged last summer but was postponed due to the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The postponement of the quadrennial event has meant another year of training and preparation for some legendary athletes facing another race, the one against time.  The situation will not be an entirely new one for nine-time World champion and two-time Olympic champion Fraser-Pryce.  In 2019, at the age of 32, she became the oldest female sprinter to win a 100m world title.  In that event, by comparison, silver medalist, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith was nine years her junior.  Showing herself to be very much at the top of her game in 2020, however, despite the havoc the global pandemic wrought on the international schedule, Fraser-Pryce is clearly in the mood to defy the odds yet again.

“Yes, I’m 33, but if I can come back from having my son and be able to stand on the podium, my age is not going to stop me.  I’m still going to work hard.  I’m still going to be committed and I’m grateful for the years of experience I’ve had,” Fraser-Pryce told the BBC.

"I'm probably older than most of the women in the race but so what? I'm just focusing on getting the job done and being happy."

Legendary West Indies batsman, Brian Lara, has pointed to a performance that emanated from one of the uglier, darker moments of a largely sparkling career as one of his most memorable.

In one of a few instances the batting star was not greeted by applause and gestures of widespread adoration on his sojourn to the crease, Lara was booed by the Sabina Park crowd when strode out for the second Test of the 1999 Australia tour of the West Indies.

During a tumultuous period for the Windies, the issue for some home fans stemmed from what they believed to be disrespect shown to bowling legend Courtney Walsh in what they deemed to be a hostile takeover of the captaincy by the Trinidadian.  Walsh, who was appointed captain in 1994, served as captain for 22 Test matches before being replaced by Lara in 1998.  On the back of a heavy loss to Australia in the first Test and having also previously been whitewashed by South Africa, The Prince found himself occupying the unusual status of public enemy.

His response, a classy, shot-filed 213, which would go on to underpin a massive 10 wicket win at Sabina Park to level the series, it must be said, went a long way in lightening the mood.

“Everyone says the 153 was second maybe to Sir Don Bradman’s (Against England at Melbourne in 1936-1937), maybe post-war, one of the better innings, but a week before that I was in Jamaica where we played against Australia in that second Test match,” Lara told 7Cricket.

“We came off scoring 51 in the fourth innings in Trinidad and I stood there in Jamaica, I was given the captaincy for two Test matches, on probation, never before had that happened in the history of West Indies cricket…that 213 in Jamaica was for me (special) in terms of not just batsmanship but my inner strength to come out of that situation I was in,” he went on.

“I was facing expulsion as the captain, of course, I was going to be playing, the captaincy was not that important to me that I wouldn’t play, but the threat of the expulsion and the fact that everyone was sort of jeering against me, in the Caribbean, was just unbelievable.”

West Indies captain for the upcoming One Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh, Jason Mohammed, says the team will draw inspiration from India’s surprise triumph over Australia, at the much-vaunted Gabba fortress, on Monday.

The relatively inexperienced India team ended a 32-year unbeaten run for the Aussies on the back of a stellar innings from Rishabh Pant.  The team’s performance broke Australian hearts, and records as well, with the mammoth target of 328 runs representing the highest ever successful runs chase at the venue.  It was achieved with 3 wickets remaining.

Heading into the series as huge underdogs, the team owed a large part of the victory to resilience, Shubman Gill's crucial 91 and the dogged determination of Cheteshwar Pujara who faced 211 deliveries and 10 body blows to defend the Border-Gavaskar trophy on a dramatic final day.

For, Mohammed, who will lead a hastily assembled and likewise inexperienced squad against Bangladesh, starting on Wednesday, there is plenty about the India performance to draw encouragement from.

“It’s obviously something we will look to.  It depends on the day and how you play,” Mohammed told members of the media via a press conference call on Tuesday.

“A lot of the guys will be making their debut, but once you have that belief and belief within the team that you can do well and that you can win games then these things are achievable and it showed in the India versus Australia series,” he added.

“We have the same mindset.  We are just looking to play some good cricket starting tomorrow and hopefully, the results will be on our side as well.”

Dominican cricketer Tyrone Theophile is reportedly back home in Dominica following recent emergency surgery in Martinique.

Kieron Pollard will lead a powerful TT Red Force squad when the CG Insurance Super50 Cup bowls off in Antigua and Barbuda from February 7-27.

Pollard heads a seasoned squad of players that include the likes of Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and the hard-hitting Nicholas Pooran. Darren Bravo, who will form part of the strong squad will also serve as vice-captain for the team that were semi-finalists last time out.

The T&T selectors have also picked the experienced Jason Mohammed, who is on West Indies duty in Bangladesh as well as former West Indies representatives Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin and Ravi Rampaul.

Imran Khan, Akeal Hosein, opener Kjorn Ottley, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales are also in line to represent the team from the twin-island republic that on paper should start as favourites to win the shortened version of the competition in 2021.

The full squad reads: Kieron Pollard (captain), Darren Bravo (vice-captain), Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Imran Khan, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Jayden Seales, Kjorn Ottley, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre.

Inter Miami have confirmed the appointment of former England Women boss Phil Neville as their new head coach.

Neville is heading to the United States to continue his coaching career, joining up with ex-Manchester United team-mate David Beckham at the MLS franchise.

Previous coach Diego Alonso left after taking charge for the team's inaugural season; they finished 10th in the Eastern Conference before losing to Nashville in the play-in round of the playoffs.

As well as bringing in Neville, Inter Miami have also announced Chris Henderson as their new chief soccer officer and sporting director.

"I am incredibly delighted for this opportunity to coach Inter Miami and to work with Chris and the entire ownership group," said Neville, who can start his new job once he receives a work visa.

"This is a very young club with a lot of promise and upside, and I am committed to challenging myself, my players and everyone around me to grow and build a competitive soccer culture we can all be proud of.

"This fantastic soccer-loving market deserves consistent performances and a winning mentality, and I look forward to getting to work."

The Football Association (FA) confirmed earlier on Monday that Neville had stood down from his England post with immediate effect.

Co-owner Beckham believes Neville's experiences as both a player and a coach can help Inter Miami to success on the field, describing his long-time friend as a "natural leader".

"I have known Phil since we were both teenagers at the Manchester United academy. We share a footballing DNA having been trained by some of the best leaders in the game, and it's those values that I have always wanted running through our club," he said in a statement.

"Phil has deep experience in football, as a player and as a coach at both club and international level, and over his career he has worked with many of the finest managers and players in the game.

"I know his qualities as a person, his decency, loyalty and honesty - and his incredible energy and work ethic. Anyone who has played or worked with Phil knows he is a natural leader, and I believe now is the right time for him to join."

Voting statutes under review at JFF

The issue regarding the number of delegates who vote at the Congress of the Jamaica Football Federation is under review for change, according to President the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts.

Ricketts was speaking at the Annual General Meeting held in St Mary last Saturday. “We have begun work on the revision of the statutes under the guidance of FIFA,” Ricketts said.

Discussions surrounding the issue began with a FIFA representative who visited the island in 2020.

Since then, FIFA has sent some proposals that are being examined by a task force that was established by the Board (JFF) and which has provided responses to FIFA. “This is a process that you as a delegate and the broader football fraternity will be actively involved in as decision-makers,” Ricketts said.

“I want to re-assure and commit that in the coming period through all means available to us, face to face, through town-hall meetings or virtually, stakeholders will be part of the process of discussion before the final decision at congress.”

There are a number of best practices that will be part of the process of the review.

Ricketts said a review of the definition of memberships with the aim of widening and deepening the current membership structure is taking place.  “The representation here at our annual general meeting as well as voting rights at Congress could change based on best practices,” Ricketts stated.

The change, to reduce the delegates from over 130 to the existing 13 was made under former president the late Captain Horace Burrell.

Mr. Ricketts also said that the ongoing review and consultation involves term limits.

The Jamaica Football Federation has managed to slash a sizeable portion of its JMD$300m debt as of the end of 2020, President Michael Ricketts announced at the federation’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday.

According to the beleaguered president, the JFF has managed to slash its debt to JMD$238 million.

“We have worked diligently to cut costs wherever we can even with limited sponsorship,” he said. “This year will be particularly challenging as we have the World Cup qualifiers to fund.”

Ricketts pointed to some of the positives that have taken place recently under his watch and explained why the country’s football is headed in the right direction, even in the face of a pandemic. He was particularly happy that the wheels are in motion to get local players on the field of play.

“We are very happy that just Wednesday of this week the Ministry of Culture, Entertainment and Sports announced that arising out of discussions with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Technical teams from both ministries will begin a series of meetings with the sporting associations regarding the resumption of some of their activities,” Ricketts said.

“I, therefore, use the opportunity to advise you that as per this communication, all requests for training and competitions or events must be submitted to the Ministry of Sports.

He reiterated that clubs, affiliates and event organisers must submit any request through the JFF. “The JFF has been very deliberate in working positively with the ministries and meeting the requirements to ensure that football returns as soon as it is possible to do so,” he said.

 “We intend in these discussions to not only discuss the Premier League but all competitions at the parish level including youth and women’s football.”

The football president was happy with the progress made by the Premier League Interim Committee (PLJIC), a body which he commissioned at the start of 2020.

“We asked the President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, Mr Christopher Samuda to chair this committee and we invited members of the Premier League clubs; representatives of the JFF board and some independent persons to sit on this committee. The mandate was to review the existing commercial, operational and governance structures, policies and arrangements of the National Premier League (NPL) and recommend proposals for the improvement of these structures, policies and arrangements and prepare a three-year business plan covering 2020/21 through 2022/23 seasons.”

This body represents the single most fundamental game-changer in the sports and we are already seeing the outcomes.

He pointed to the formation of the new entity called Professional Football Jamaica Limited which was formed to initially drive the commercialization of the league and overtime all professional competitions. Over $100 million dollars in sponsorships and partnerships have been garnered over the last three months.

Ricketts pointed out that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the PFJL and the JFF which outlines the relationships between the two bodies and clearly states the responsibility between both. Under the MOU, the JFF retains responsibility for operations and regulations of the league.

Darren Sammy is looking to enjoy the sweet smell of success in the near future following the signing of a new licensing agreement with Asgharali, a Bahrain-based fragrance company that has been in operation for more than 100 years.