The dismissal of Rene Simoes, the architect of Jamaica's historic qualification for France 1998, as technical director has been the main talking point in local football circles for the past week.

Following a promising 1-1 draw with Canada on August 20 the Reggae Boyz, after falling 3-0 to Mexico and 2-0 to Honduras, are now at the bottom of their semi-final group with just one point and needing a near miracle to advance to next year's lucrative CONCACAF final round.

I say lucrative because each of five home matches, depending on the performance of the team, could conceivably bring more than $30 million into the coffers of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). That income would come not only from gate receipts but from television rights and sales of replica shirts. The country could also benefit from spectators coming in from the United States and football-mad countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Disaster

Failure to advance to this final round could spell disaster for Jamaica's current football programme - at least for the next three years. It is no secret that the money earned from the exploits of the senior Boyz is used to finance the other programmes at the Under-23, Under-20, Under 17 and other levels. A blank 2009 without World Cup qualifiers would put Jamaica in the shade with the risk that the island's now low ranking would sink even further.

Contrary to popular belief , I do not think Jamaica played badly in the games against Mexico and Honduras. The truth is they were not allowed to play.

In the first match, Mexico were far superior technically. Their ball control was immaculate, they ran into spaces well, their passing was accurate and they kept the Jamaican wingbacks at home with clever play on the flanks. They were therefore able to outplay the Boyz in every department of the game and reduce their opponents' attacks to a few wayward long balls.

In Honduras, Jamaica looked a bit more comfortable not because they were playing better but because they were playing less formidable opposition. The bigger, stronger Hondurans were much more robust than the Mexicans but they lacked the fine skills of their neighbours and the Jamaican players were thus able to see more of the ball and do more in attack.

D-day

With Jamaica now looking at a maximum 10 points in the group, I cannot see them advancing ahead of either Mexico or Honduras. In fact I think Saturday, October 11 is D-day as far as Jamaica's interest in World Cup 2010 in South Africa is concerned.

Even with a team packed with the best of Jamaica's experienced talent from England, North America, Norway and Sweden, I would not bet on the Reggae Boyz against Mexico.

These top players from England and Europe would only be able to fly in three days or less before the next game, not enough time for a new coach to put a winning combination together to beat Mexico. Meanwhile, Honduras will be too good, playing at home, for Canada.

Mexico will therefore move to 10 points with a draw or 12 with a win. Honduras will advance to nine with their defeat of Canada and Jamaica's final two matches will be of academic interest. Jamaica has had little or no infrastructure development since qualifying for the 1998 World Cup and the best move the JFF can make now is to begin laying the groundwork for the 2014 World Cup. Get the long-awaited training centre in place with a proper field and begin unearthing the best local talent.

Then employ an experienced coach from France, the Netherlands or Germany to teach these young Jamaicans the basic skills of the game. Now is the time to be focussing on development rather than stop-gap measures.

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