Local stakeholders want JFF to align rules with FIFA changes at World Cup Overwhelming support for elimination of time-wasting

Coaches Donovan Duckie and Andrew Price, and administrator Owen Hill say the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) should move quickly to adopt several of the new laws introduced at the ongoing FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Among the new measures being implemented are five-second countdowns for throw-ins and goal kicks, an eight-second limit for goalkeepers to release the ball after catching it, 10-second substitution windows, stricter punishment for players and officials who leave the field to protest refereeing decisions, and mandatory 60-second medical leave for outfield players who receive treatment before returning to play.

The changes are aimed at reducing time-wasting, increasing ball-in-play time and improving the overall flow of matches.

Duckie, the recently-installed head coach of Jamaica Premier League club Waterhouse FC, said these new rules would greatly benefit the local game.

“I have never seen a technical report on the Jamaica Premier League that speaks to time-wasting and an average amount of minutes that are played per game, but I would have seen the FIFA technical study, and what it speaks to is a lot of time-wasting is evident around the leagues and around the world and FIFA wants to bring in rules that enhance more time playing on the field and lessen the time-wasting ploys,” said Duckie.

He added that implementing these rules would result in a more entertaining product for players and fans.

“I feel that this will be good for our league because we will get more football and less stoppages. I think that this is something that the governing body for football of the country should implement, and what we will have to do is initiate it now because if it is not done now then it has to be done early so that everybody can acclimatise themselves to the rules.”

Price, who was recently appointed head coach of Tivoli Gardens FC, also welcomed the changes.

“It is good because what it does is it speeds up the game because too often people do a lot of time-wasting to slow down the game and slow down the momentum,” Price said.

“So, many times in the World Cup we see people getting fouls. They would normally lay down and wait on people to come, but what we are seeing now is people are getting up and getting back on the field because they don’t want to play a man short. So it encourages play-acting to stop, and it also encourages the speed of play, and so I have no problems with it being brought to our local leagues.”

Meanwhile, Owen Hill, CEO of Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL), also voiced his support for changes.

“Yes, I definitely think that these are innovative rules and it obviously protects the integrity of the game. You want to make sure that you limit the amount of gamesmanship ... that gives any one team an advantage,” he said.

“I think that we should be leading in that regard because our country is the number one league in the Caribbean when it comes on to performance and if it is that from a policy perspective it will always add value when it comes onto best practices, and FIFA has already implemented them. I don’t see why we shouldn’t review it internally and follow suit once it makes sense for us,” he said.

Hill also mentioned that the timing could be ideal, with competition regulations currently under review.

“I think it is timely because we are now in the early throes of trying to determine what the regulations are, so it could be an interesting time to review and implement. But that it is a competitions committee discussion. But from a stakeholder standpoint I think it is something worth reviewing and so I am an advocate for it” Hill said.