2005-10-24 - 2006 World Cup Qualifying - CONCACAF/Asia Playoff
With three weeks to go until the playoff
matches begin, there's quite a storm brewing in the Caribbean. No, it's
not hurricane Wilma, but rather the the ill feeling between Trinidad
and Tobago and Jamaica.
Bahrain has managed to arrange a
training camp in Jamaica and will even play a warmup against their
national team. As you can imagine the Trinidad and Tobago FA is not
best pleased with this arrangement as it will obviously help Bahrain.
Apparently both Guatemala and Costa Rica turned Bahrain down when they
requested to play some warm-up matches, the former showing solidarity
with Trinidad and Tobago in turning Bahrain down. If this was also the
case for Costa Rica it would seem most admirable. Panama has apparently
also accepted an offer to play a friendly match in Bahrain later this
month. I wonder if something like this could happen in Europe or other
parts of the World?
With no designated FIFA international
match dates between the last qualification matches in October and the
playoff matches in November, it seemed like neither team would be able
to arrange any friendly matches to practice for the playoff. Indeed, it
would be extremely difficult for any national team to get players
released for matches not played on the FIFA-designated dates (i.e.
France v Costa Rica on November 9th!). However, the Qatar FA has
apparently showed solidarity with their Arabian 'neighbours' and
allowed the Bahraini players playing for it's teams to join their team
in Jamaica well before the FIFA rules stipulate that they must be
released (i.e. 5 days prior to an international match). Furthermore,
not only does Bahrain now have these advantages, they of course also
have the advantage that they'll play the second leg at home. As a
result they have the chance to set up camp in the Caribbean well before
the playoff matches, something that the Trinidad and Tobago team won't
be able to do. At best they could arrange a match with an Arabian
country before the playoffs but it would seem an impossible task for
them to get a team together that plays all across the world. It would
also be unlikely that such a match could take place on the Arabian
peninsula as they'd have to travel back to the Caribbean before the
playoff match.
The Jamaican FA will undoubtedly be paid quite
well for this arrangement, and since they missed out on the financially
lucrative final round of CONCACAF qualification, they probably couldn't
resist accepting the Bahraini offer. If a similar financial incentive
was offered to Guatemala and Costa Rica, it makes their position even
more admirable, even if they probably made quite a bit of money from
the final round of the CONCACAF qualification. I don't think Jamaica
can be blamed for this especially as they apparently need the money,
but it does seem a strange decision not to help their Caribbean
'neighbours'. There have apparently already been some threats from
Trinidad and Tobago in Jamaica's direction, and I wonder what the
future implications of the Jamaican decision will be. I think we can
definately expect some spicy encounters between the nations if they do
meet in the near future, especially if Trinidad and Tobago manage to
once again miss out on World Cup qualification.
Just as they
learned in the past to arrange final group matches to be played at the
same time, I think in the future FIFA would be prudent to arrange such
matches such that both teams have an opportunity to play warmup matches
before their playoff matches as this definately doesn't seem fair.
Although Bahrain aren't doing anything wrong, they do seem to have
managed to gain themselves an advantage by financial means. They've
already been rather lucky in the playoff with Uzbekistan so perhaps
fate is telling us that Bahrain will qualify. I suppose time will tell
whether it will all pay off for them, both literally and figuratively!
Ultimately of course whichever team qualifies, they're likely to be
'also-rans' at the finals in Germany next year, but whatever happens
the hurricane season in the Caribbean may well be extended into next
year!
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