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IPL moving to fix Stadium lights ahead of World Cup clash
May 30, 2024
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and Independence Park Limited (IPL) are in a race against time to have adequate lighting at the National Stadium for next Thursday's Concacaf World Cup qualifier against the Dominican Republic.
The scheduled start of the match (6:30 p.m.) could be altered because the lighting inside the stadium facility falls below Concacaf's required standard of 1,000 lumens (lumens is the unit measurement of brightness, with one lumen equalling the brightness of one candle.) If the lights are not fixed the JFF would be forced to reschedule the game for an early time in the day, when lights would not be required.
General secretary for the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Dennis Chung told STAR Sports yesterday that the match should kick off at the scheduled 6:30 p.m. start time. He revealed that he has received the assurance of IPL that replacement lights will be in the island by weekend. He noted also that the lights will take two days to install, which is well ahead of the game on Thursday.
"We are working with IPL, who are on top of the situation," Chung told STAR Sports. "They actually will be receiving and clearing the lights as projected by this weekend. They have communicated that it will take about two days to install and focus the lights, as it is important that the lights are projected evenly."
He added that they will give another update on the situation at the end of the week but he has no doubt that everything will go through as planned.
"We will of course get a further update by the end of the week but we have no reason to believe that everything will not be in place for the game on June 6 and we want to encourage everyone to come out and see the Reggae Boyz in action, as they have just come out of a very successful run in the Nation's League and heading towards the Copa America. Also the team is not scheduled to play in Jamaica again until 2025 and it is therefore an opportunity to see them in action."
Earlier this year, Cavalier were fined US$10,000 for inadequate lighting at the stadium and coach Rudolph Speid has expressed concerns going into the next regional club competition.
"Last year I got fined US $10,000 because the lights weren't adequate in the Caribbean Cup. As it is now it (National Stadium) can't be used for our Caribbean Club Championship because the lights cannot be used at this point in time.
"It needs 1,000 lumens, as the majority of the area is not covered and that is basically because one of the towers is down," Speid said.
