Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport

Jamaican-born Al Hamilton, author, sports writer and founder of the Commonwealth Sports Awards, has lauded the decision by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to employ former England star John Barnes as national coach.

"I think that Barnes, knowing him as I do from he was an 18-year-old playing for Watford ... will work very, very well with Theodore Whitmore. Whitmore will have respect for him knowing the level he has performed - 79 caps for England.

"I really think this is a new dawn for Jamaica's football and I really applaud it."

'Marriage made in heaven'

Hamilton who has written a number of books on sportsmen of African heritage in Britain, including ' History of the Black Pearls of football' added that the twinning of Barnes and Whitmore was a 'marriage made in heaven.'

"Whitmore having got the confidence and the love and the appreciation of his fellow Reggae Boyz will be able to 'gee' them up in his way and Barnes, in his own dignified way will be able to ensure the international links, that he has. I applaud Captain (Horace Burrell) and his team for moving down this path."

Barnes was born in Jamaica but left the island to live in England in the early 1970s. He was appointed head coach of the Reggae Boyz following the sacking of Brazilian Rene Simoes last month.

London-based Hamilton launched the inaugural Caribbean Awards Sports Icons (CASI) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel yesterday. The event set for Friday, November 7 at the same hotel will honour several past and present Caribbean sports stars.

Highest level

At a press briefing held at the Jamaica Pegasus yesterday Hamilton said the whole idea of this new award is to look at the contribution that sports persons have made within this region at the highest level.

"It dawned on me, when I researched the situation, that there were no awards of this kind in the Caribbean so I felt that this was something I would like to do before I depart this earth," Hamilton said. "We had a nomination committee which looked at people since 1948. The criteria for selection was that you must have performed at the highest level over the past 60 years."

Hamilton added that they also wanted to ensure that the legacy of the athletes is recognised when they are alive rather than when they are gone.

Regional sports

Five leading regional sports will be highlighted - athletics (male and female), boxing, cricket, football and netball. Top regional administrators will also be honoured.

The nominees for each sport are: Athletics (female) - Deon Hemmings, Merlene Ottey, Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica) Chandra Sturrup and Debbie Ferguson (Bahamas).

Male - Don Quarrie and Bert Cameron (Jamaica); Hasely Crawford (Trinidad and Tobago), Alberto Juantoreno (Cuba), Avard Moncur (Bahamas).

Football: Theodore Whitmore, Lindy Delapenha and Robbie Earle (Jamaica); Clyde Best (Bermuda), Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago).

Boxing: Mike McCallum (Jamaica), Teofilo Stevenson (Cuba), Leslie Stewart and Claude Noel (Trinidad and Tobago); Elisha Obed (Bahamas), Andrew Lewis (Guyana).

Cricket: Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh (Jamaica); Sir Vivian Richards (Antigua and Barbuda), Brian Lara (Trinidad and Tobago), Sir Garfield Sobers (Barbados), Clive Lloyd (Guyana).

Netball: Janet Johnson and Patricia McDonald (Jamaica); Jennifer Frank (Trinidad and Tobago).

Administrators/coaches: Molly Rhone, Mike Fennell, Teddy McCook (Jamaica); Jack Warner (Trinidad and Tobago) and Gloria Ballentine (Barbados).

On the night of the event there will also be a special spotlight on the Beijing Olympics. The nominees in this section will not be known until next Friday.

The winners in each sport will be selected by a committee chaired by former Gleaner Sport Editor and top Caribbean cricket writer, Tony Becca.