GORDON WILLIAMS, Contributor

Trinidad and Tobago's Shaka Hislop. - reuters

Jamaica missed a golden chance to build its football reputation and that of the wider Caribbean through recent failures on the pitch, according to a long-time opponent of the Reggae Boyz.

Shaka Hislop, a star of Trinidad and Tobago's creditable run at this year's World Cup finals who has faced the Reggae Boyz several times, said Jamaica had failed to capitalise on past success and instead may have damaged the region's reputation after helping to "put Caribbean football on the map" by qualifying for the finals in 1998.

"Jamaica's football has allowed it to slip a bit, especially after the achievements of 1998," said Hislop, a 37-year-old goalkeeper who replaced injured starter Kelvin Jack just hours before T&T's clash against Sweden in June and performed brilliantly in his country's first two games in Germany.

"For me I don't think they built on that success enough."

However, although Hislop admitted that he was not familiar with the workings of Jamaica's football administration, he refused to place the blame for the team's slide entirely on the Boyz.

Administration

"I don't think that it is down to the players alone," said the man who last represented West Ham in the English Premier League (EPL), but has since joined F.C. Dallas in United States Major League Soccer (MLS). "It is down to the administration too. You need to get that right...I'm looking at it from the outside, but the success is not down to the players alone."

Hislop, who has played alongside current Jamaican national players in England, including striker Ricardo Fuller when both were at Portsmouth, said Jamaica's achievement in 1998 had given the entire Caribbean region a tremendous boost, allowing small nations to believe they could compete in world football. However, the Reggae Boyz' failure to qualify for the 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals, and recent heavy defeats to Australia, Ghana and England may have knocked some sheen off that accomplishment, in terms of how the world views the region's game. Still, T&T's appearance in the 2006 tournament has helped to regain the Caribbean's shine.

"I believe we (Jamaica and T&T) have made people sit up and take notice (of Caribbean football)," explained Hislop, who spent 14 years as a professional in Europe with teams that finished runners up in the EPL - Newcastle United - and the F.A. Cup - West Ham.

He added, however, that the Caribbean needed to continue its push towards total professionalism in the sport.

"(Football) is growing...but it is important that we maintain the professional leagues," said Hislop, who explained that Europe's major clubs are no longer restricted to the game's established powers in their search for fresh talent.

"The game is certainly developing."

Despite receiving a new contract offer from West Ham, Hislop last month signed as a back-up with F.C. Dallas through the end of next season because, he said, the MLS offered "the right challenge."

Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.