Sport

'Peter gave his life to football'

Peter Cargill marching through midfeid in his heyday as a Reggae Boy. - file

AS THE TRIBUTES pour in for former Reggae Boy and national coach Peter Cargill, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident in St. Ann on Saturday, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) press officer Earl Bailey has described the tragedy as "a massive blow for local football".

Cargill, the coach of local Premier League team, Waterhouse Football Club, was killed along the Discovery Bay main road when the Hiace mini-bus in which he was a passenger skidded on the wet road and crashed into rocks.

Hugh 'Bingi' Blair, also a former national and Waterhouse player, was behind the steering wheel of the ill-fated mini-bus, which claimed the life of 41-year-old Cargill.

He was on his way to Montego Bay for Waterhouse's away game against Wadadah at Jarrett Park on Sunday.

Bailey, who is also a freelance journalist, said his acquaintance with Cargill, started almost 25 years ago.

"Personally, I've known Peter from he was in sixth form at Camperdown," Bailey recounted last night.

"I was a teacher there and he was the captain of the victorious Manning Cup team, which won the Triple Crown that year, 1982.

"Because of his international involvement, leaving to play professionally in Israel, we broke contact for a few years. However, when he returned to Jamaica we reconnected and he was always a good friend," Bailey pointed out.

Real leader of the Reggae Boyz

After Bailey joined the JFF as press officer in 1999, he said he grew closer to Cargill who was instrumental in Jamaica's historic qualification for the 1998 World Cup in France.

"After retiring, he became one of the national coaches so we travelled all over the world together. We had a lot of time to learn about each other.

"He was always positive and thought we had enough quality players to move to the next level in football but lacked professionalism and discipline. For him, that's what he always pushed for. If you didn't show that level of professionalism, you couldn't play for him."

Bailey said goalkeeper Warren Barrett might have worn the captain's armband during Jamaica's historic qualification for France '98, central midfielder Cargill was the real leader of the Reggae Boyz.

"He returned in his prime to successfully assist Jamaica in its World Cup campaign. He was chosen to be a part of the team and although he was not the captain, he was the recognised leader because of the responsibility thrust upon him by the coach, Rene Simoes, and by his own strong personality," Bailey noted.

"He was able to assume the de-facto leadership. He played outstanding roles for Jamaica as a player. After retiring he moved into position as a national coach. He was clearly one of our brighter lights when it came on to coaching."

Massive blow for local football

Bailey said even though Cargill was relieved of his job after failing to qualify the national Under-23s for the 2004 Olympics, he had done wonders at Waterhouse within a few months.

"Even though he was out of the programme, he never gave up and moved to Waterhouse with great success, having reached the last two end-of-round finals, a significant feat," said Bailey.

"Potentially, he would have been one of our national coaches. At only 41, he would have certainly had a role to play in the future. So much was invested in him, both as a player and coach.

"His loss is a massive blow for local football. We at the JFF extend our condolences to his family and friends and to the Waterhouse Football Club. It's sad but we have to pick up the pieces and ensure his hard work won't be in vain.

"It's really a sad loss," Bailey said. "Peter virtually gave his life to football."