The Jamaica Football Federation, JFF were saved from major embarrassment last night when, following the intervention of the Government of Jamaica, two footballers who did not have current US visas avoided being deported from Costa Rica ahead of Wednesday’s clash against the Central American country in the latest round of world cup qualifiers.
It’s understood that Reggae Boys, Kemar ‘Taxi’ Lawrence, and Norman Campbell, came under scrutiny from immigration authorities in Costa Rica when it was discovered that they had landed in the country without valid visas.
The two footballers were facing the possibility of being deported from Costa Rica.
Costa Rica allows Jamaicans to enter the country with valid US visas.
However, the intervention of Sports Minister Olivia Grange and officials from the Kamina Johnson-Smith-led Foreign Affairs Ministry resulted in a resolution that allowed for the Boyz to rejoin their compatriots who are getting ready for the clash with Costa Rica which is to get underway at 8:00 tomorrow evening.
Lawrence and Campbell were eventually issued with visas after hours of negotiations which reportedly ended in the wee hours of this morning.
The visa embarrassment has led to questions being raised about whether the required basic planning was carried out by the JFF ahead of the Boys leaving Kingston for the match against Costa Rica which had been scheduled months ago.
The Reggae Boys are under pressure to register a victory having lost their opening two games of the Qualifiers against Mexico at the Azteca and against Panama at the National Stadium in Kingston.
