Leon Bailey slams Jamaican Football Federation for lack of professionalism

Leon Bailey says he had to book his own flight for international games

The Jamaican national team’s Leon Bailey has said his team is going to “give a break” due to concerns about what he described as a lack of professionalism.

The Aston Villa winger blasted the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), long a target of criticism from players on its national teams, in advance of the Reggae Boyz’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal matchup against the U.S. men’s national team, for simple mistakes involving machinery, scheduling trips, and other miscellaneous issues.In an interview with Let’s Be Honest podcast, Bailey criticised the JFF with no holds barred. Bailey then talked about how it has been an issue to even be given team clothes to train in.

“A lot of people don’t know that most of the time, I book my own flights to come and represent Jamaica because they are very unprofessional,” explained Bailey. “You’re getting your flight details [at] 11 p.m. to travel the next day. [The JFF] doesn’t pay us. I can’t remember the last time I received a dollar from the national team. It’s very unprofessional, in ways you can’t even imagine.”

“You’re turning up and they don’t have equipment for you. You’ll go and they’ll only have one shirt for you, and you have to find shorts,” said a bemused Bailey. “Players turn up to games and it’s a women’s shirt they print out for them to wear. It’s ridiculous and they don’t know how to operate.”

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“It’s two things I’ve always asked them for, and every time, I can’t get it. You have people booking flights for me and sending me from England to Jamaica with three different stops,” insisted Bailey. “All I ask for is a proper flight and a room by myself, and I can’t get that. If I don’t go the national team, I can go on my vacation and I can live good.”

Bailey’s suspension by head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson for breaking curfew at a camp in November would have prevented him from playing against the USMNT on Thursday.

Bailey acknowledged breaking team rules, but he disagreed with Hallgrímsson’s public announcement of the news.

“I did break curfew, but that’s normal. Every player does that,” said Bailey, who added that the suspension was not so much of a big deal in and of itself as it was just the last straw. “It’s just the way how it was presented that I didn’t like.

“[Hallgrímsson] did say to me that he wasn’t going to invite me to the next camp but, way before this happened, I always had it in my head that this is too much on my plate when it comes to the national team, and I was really going to take a break from it, and then [the suspension] just tipped off everything… I felt that was really harsh and it just said to me that me being in the national team right now, it really drains my energy a lot.”

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