Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda has called for a dramatic overhaul of the country’s sporting infrastructure, arguing that Jamaica cannot fully optimise or commercialise its athletic talent without significant investment in modern facilities.
Despite Jamaica’s strong showings at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow — where the island claimed 19 medals — and the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Santo Domingo, where 11 medals were won largely without the country’s top track and field stars, Samuda says the facilities witnessed at both competitions served as a wake-up call.
“Modern and functional sporting facilities are the training and conditioning grounds for talent development and success,” he said. “As a country, we will not be able to optimise talent across the spectrum of sport and commercialise sport into an industry unless we improve dramatically the physical infrastructure of sport.”
Samuda stressed that infrastructural development cannot rest on any single sector, calling for joint public and private investment, bilateral partnerships, and strategic grant funding to build a network of proper facilities — from grassroots community venues to high-performance centres.
Encouragingly, he revealed that discussions are already underway. Through its relationship with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Jamaica Paralympic Association has been exploring the construction of a high-performance indoor multi-sport Paralympic complex — one that would also serve as an Olympic development hub accommodating a wide range of disciplines including basketball, netball, badminton, volleyball, judo, fencing, and teqball, among others.
With the 2027 Lima Pan American Games on the horizon, Samuda said the lessons of Glasgow and Santo Domingo must now be translated into action.
“Games are the end product, but if we are to earn prowess and a global reputation in a multiplicity of sports, we must break ground for sport centres and create pipelines of generational talent,” he said.
SOURCE: Jamaica Observer
