Post-Melissa blueprint

MONTEGO BAY United (MBU) Chairman Yoni Epstein says the club will use the devastation caused by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa as added motivation to win this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL) title.

Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island on Tuesday, left a trail of destruction in western Jamaica, resulting in the deaths of 28 Jamaicans so far.

MBU, who last lifted the JPL crown during the 2015–2016 season, sit atop the standings with 22 points from nine matches, ahead of Portmore United (18 points) and Racing United (15 points). Defending champions Cavalier are fourth on 13 points.

“It is a disaster because I don’t think any of us expected this kind of catastrophic damage, even though we knew that we were coming into a Category 5 storm, but we are thankful that we have life; and the rest of things, we can figure out,” said Epstein.

“We are the number-one team in the league and we are going to use this as an opportunity and as motivation to bring the championship back to Montego Bay on May 26.”

While calling on the team to rally, he noted that players and staff have suffered personal losses and that their safety remains the club’s top concern.

“That is one of the things that we are thankful for because, first of all, thank God that all our players and technical staff are safe, but they did suffer complete or minor damage to their houses. But when you have life, you can rebuild. Right now, our focus is making sure that our players have some support,” Epstein said.

“However, in the background, our coach and technical team, led by head coach Xavier Gilbert, is working on our plans, but there are no indications as to when the league will resume.

“We are making our plans internally to ensure that we have a backup plan, but what that backup plan is, we have not finalised it as yet. Some of that backup will include where we are going to be playing our home games, training, and where we are going to house the boys,” he explained.

Epstein highlighted that the Montego Bay Sports Complex facility was not spared from Hurricane Melissa.

“It (the stadium) suffered a fair bit of damage. There is damage to the lights, the field is still under water and mud from the hurricane, and a lot of fencing around the stadium area has been blown down. The structure is still sound and in place, but Catherine Hall is one of the most affected areas in Montego Bay. I don’t know how much money it is going to cost to do the repairs because we haven’t even done an assessment yet,” he said.

Epstein also stated that Montego Bay Multi-Purpose Development Limited, which had submitted a bid to acquire the Montego Bay Sports Complex last November, has received positive feedback.

“The bid was made in November of last year. We were the sole bidders, and it was accepted by the St James Municipal Corporation. The entire bid was sent in August to the Ministry of Local Government for review and final approval, and to the best of my knowledge, that process was far advanced prior to the hurricane hitting Jamaica and devastating the western side of the country,” he said.

“It is too early to understand where things are at because the priority now, given the fact that people who are involved are focusing on the broader community to get people the help that they need. So it is on the back burner right now, but it is very much a priority for the club over time, and I am pretty certain that the municipality and the local government still want to see it happen,” Epstein added. Meanwhile, a restart date for the JPL has not yet been announced.