Series called off as Cubans fail to secure flights

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – A scheduled two-match international friendly series between the Reggae Boyz and Cuba has been abandoned due to the failure of the Cubans to secure a flight into the country on the required dates.
This was confirmed by general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Dalton Wint on Thursday, who revealed that the series was called off on Wednesday night.
The Cubans were scheduled to arrive in the country on Sunday, September 30, and were due to play their first game against a local-based Jamaica contingent on Tuesday, October 2, at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, St. James, with another match to have taken place at Drax Hall in St. Ann three days later.
“We had to call off the games because the Cubans could not secure airline seats for September 30… they were able to get seats on the 28th and suggested we play the first game on the Sunday.
“We could not do that because Sunday, September 30, is a Red Stripe Premier League game day and we did not want to disrupt the schedule of the league so early in the season, so we could not have accommodated the Cubans,” Wint told the Jamaica Observer.
With the Jamaicans set to take on Bonaire in their CONCACAF Nations League qualifying match on October 14, the series would have been the perfect warm-up.
And while Wint said he didn’t expect the cancellation to significantly affect the squad, he rued the missed opportunity.
“It throws us out a bit because we had turned down other interested parties to facilitate Cuba, but we will try our best to get at least one game before the Bonaire game,” he explained.
“I don’t expect this to severely affect the continued programme to look at local players, as the coaching staff will still have the opportunity to observe players in the Premier League and an early camp before the Bonaire assignment.”