LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

Left: Burchell Gibson.   Right: Jermaine Hue in action for the Reggae Boyz

The Reggae Boyz play their fourth home game in 11 days on Sunday against Canada in a bid to win back public support and confidence.

The Canadian friendly will be the most high-profiled of the four. The previous three games were in the Digicel Caribbean Cup where Jamaica were surprisingly eliminated in the first round after two wins and a loss.

Before the Digicel Cup, the last home game was almost two years ago, a 2-1 win against St. Lucia on December 19, 2004. During this 22-month hiatus, the Reggae Boyz had a record of six wins, two draws and six losses, with most of their wins against Caribbean teams. They also fell from 49th to 77th in the FIFA rankings.

All these factors combined to slowly alienate the public from the team, evident by the boos hurled their way last week in the Caribbean tournament.

Risky pricing

Sunday's international friendly will cost spectators $500 (bleachers) and $1,200 and $1,500 (grandstand), risky pricing by the JFF as spectators are doubtful they will get value for money.

During the Digicel Cup, the grandstand, which was the only section opened with tickets costing $500, was at best 75 per cent full. General secretary Burchell Gibson said he believes the foreign-based players, most of whom did not play in the Caribbean Cup, will attract patrons.

"I am sure that local fans who are hungry to see most of the players who ply their football abroad and who would realise that there are some costs associated in bringing these players here will want to support the national programme," said Gibson yesterday at a JFF press conference to announce a $800,000 sponsorship by JMMB for Sunday's game and the November 15 friendly against Peru.

Some of those international players Gibson sees as drawing cards include midfielder Jermaine Hue and striker Luton Shelton, both of whom play in Sweden, and striker Ricardo Fuller and defender Claude Davis who play in England.

A poor turnout on Sunday would add to the JFF's debt as it is costing the federation an estimated $6.5 million to host the game. But according to Gibson, even if the grandstand and bleachers section only get 3,000 spectators each, the federation will at least break even.

Good faith

Gibson, however, expressed faith in good crowd support and said the fans will not be disappointed.

"They (players) realise the situation we are in and I'm quite sure that they will rise to the occasion." he said.

Coach Carl Brown, who has a record of two losses and two wins since filling the post on an interim basis almost two months ago, stressed the importance of the team winning, particularly at home.

"Like them (public) we too are very disappointed that we did not qualify for the next stage of the Digicel Cup, but we really want to put on a show this Sunday for the public." Brown said.

"We know that we are going to have supporters there in spite of everything, so our real goal is to satisfy these people."

The Canadians, coached by Stephen Hart, are scheduled to arrive this morning and will hold a training session at the Harbour View Mini Stadium at 5:00 p.m.