 Yeah, back on the Sports Mag Zone, the Jamaica Hockey Federation on Sunday released a 10-member squad to the inaugural Hockey Fires World Cup to be held in Muscat Oman from the 28th to the 1st of January. Jamaica secured their spot after finishing third in the qualifiers held in Kingston last June behind fellow Caribbean country Trinidad and Tobago and a tournament winners USA. The squad is led by captain and goalkeeper Johnny Burton as well as two vice-captains Richard Harris and Christopher Reed. A second goalkeeper achieved Johnston as well as Tyrone Vernon, George McGlashan and Shamar Gordon all have international Hockey Fives experience while Kamar Mitchell, Tassif Graham and Daniel Powell are the newcomers to the squad. They did not play in the qualifiers last year. The team's participation however is in limbo as the Jamaica Hockey Federation is in a race against time to fully fund the trip. The Federation is currently facing a shortfall of approximately 5 million Jamaican dollars or close to 32,000 US dollars to get the team ready to depart on the 22nd of January. Joining us in studio to discuss the naming of the squad and the current financial shortfall is President Fabian Stewart and we also have on Zoom head coach Devon Hinlan. Well Devon is actually on the phone Devon welcome to the Sportsman zone how are you doing? I am good thanks for having us. Alright and let me start with the President Fabian Stewart on this day in Sport Fabian first of all it's a pleasure to have you on the Sportsman zone welcome to our beautiful space. It is beautiful thank you for having me. Thank you for being here where are we on this day in sports? Well we are getting closer to our goal I would say that we're probably 60 to 65 percent of the way we have had some commitment related to the shortfall we're still probably about I would say 3 million out but we have had some commitment to the initial 5 million shortfall so we're getting a little closer. Are you one disappointed, two surprised that having qualified for this inaugural Hockey Fires World Cup from last summer that you find yourselves in this financial position? That's a very interesting question having been a part of the sport for a long time having had the challenges over and over again I think we are trying to change a paradigm in Jamaica and certainly in the Caribbean in terms of sports and the number of sports diversity in terms of sports so you always recognize that a lot of the funding will go to the bigger players and then at the end of the day what is left of the pie you would share. So we were a little bit taken aback because we've been working on this process for about six years and we had great support I would say from the minister, the ministry, GOA and even corporate moving forward but for some strange reason I don't know what occurred after I suppose when people saw the original budget to go to home and there was a little sort of hesitation in terms of everyone coming on board to push us forward. Do you think as an association you've marketed this achievement in the best possible way because this is a significant achievement qualifying for a World Cup? Absolutely, I mean we've been playing the sport from 1902. For a second then when you said we, I thought you were included. Jamaica has been playing from 1902 and I've brought here by the British, I think it's the Indian regiment, British West Indies regiment but we've never gone to a World Cup and FIH event so this is actually the first of its kind. Let me get Nikko involved in the conversation, Devon involved in the conversation. Devon, the squad that has been named, talk to us about your squad and how pleased you are with the team that you will be taking to Oman, Fingers crossed. Well the players are very excited for one. I think the squad is a very rounded squad. It is filled with experience and talent. So Hockey 5 is a very new version of the sport and a lot of the players do have some experience from the 11er side. As I mentioned earlier, we retained seven players that had previously played in the qualifiers and there are three new players who didn't participate. However, not to say those players are not talented or have the experience of playing field hockey as they have also played for the national team before in other versions. So Cameron Mitchell is a very experienced and talented player, plays a lot of his hockey in the U.S. and he wasn't available for us at the previous tournament but now he's and to see if Daniel Powell again wasn't available to us. So it's good to have them in the squad and I'm sure the other players welcome their participation. We have George Magasin who has played over 50 caps for Jamaica. So he will bring his work of knowledge and experience at various tournaments through the team as well. Yeah, I have to ask you this one because I remember the qualifiers last year and Nikkoi Stevens and I think his name is, he was one of the leading players for Jamaica on the goal scoring front but I don't see him in this lineup. That took me a little bit by surprise. Is he injured? Yeah, I would say we take a lot of players by a lot of persons by surprise. Nikkoi is one of our top post scorers, very talented young man but Nikkoi has had some challenges this term, this time out with his work commitment and due to his work commitments he wasn't fully available for training and that's one of the challenges that we face with a sport like field hockey that is not a really professional sport played in Jamaica. All the athletes, they're either full-time work or full-time job or if they're in school they're full-time student athletes. So with that it's sometimes difficult to do a balance when you're kind of like volunteering your skills or your talent to represent Jamaica. But if Nikkoi will be missed, he will be missed but I'm pretty sure the other players who have came into the squad in his replacement they are just as talented and they're eager to represent and give their best for Jamaica. Yeah, given what you just did because I also know that you pointed out Kamara plays a lot of his hockey overseas and the issues locally with getting individuals to train consistently if I am to understand what you said correctly how difficult was it to prepare this squad for the World Cup? Well the men's team has been benefiting from the fact that a lot of the athletes currently know our student athletes are majority of them just finished university and are not fully engaged in a job per se. So with that it allowed them a bit more time to train and they could come into the five days of training per week more than the other athletes who have left university over a longer period and are now fully engaged in full-time jobs. Kamara has been back and forth between the US and Jamaica as he also engages in coaching and developing younger athletes there as well. So it's kind of like tying coaching hockey and playing hockey together for him that works out so he gets more time to train and play. Right and coach with all of that on the table you know all these different constraints happening you're drawn in the group B alongside Egypt India and Switzerland which of these teams do you think based on of course your research and all the work that you've been doing will be a toughest opponent. They'll come right off the bat India will be. India is a very strong playing nation I think they're current number three in the world. I looked at the squad that they have released and they have persons there who have won Olympic gold medals one hockey World Cups before and so they're coming with a strong experience team and I think they will be the most challenging team for us. Coach has what has been happening off the training ground you know just trying to get the funds ready and getting all the logistics out of the way has that affected your training in any way. In some what in some cases yes the limited resources didn't afford us to get any practice games prior to playing at the World Cup. The last time it played the team played competitively would have been in July when we last participated that the hockey fives qualifiers and then the CSC games so no competitive hockey for the boys since then but we have been doing our best to make it competitive and that was one of the reasons why we had such a big training squad so we could pick teams among ourselves and keep monthly practice games that was one of the things that we had implemented to try to keep the competitive edge as much as possible. Right and Mr. President we spoke about a month ago and you were set on ensuring that the team goes. I know you've been getting some of the funds is it that you all are going whether or not but where will the funds be coming from. Let's put it this way missing this tournament is not an option for you. You said that to me and now I agree. And when you say it's not an option there are possible sanctions if you don't turn off your own mind aren't there. There are sanctions but the the significance of not going to a tournament like this is just the effect that it would have on our overall development program. We've been at this as I said when we came in from I think it was 2016 developing some of the coach in lands youngsters actually played at the Hockfives qualifiers. So we have been working on this to get us to this international stage in order to facilitate those players playing at a higher level and at the same time enhance our development program. We've had some commitment from the FIH president related to that development program. So there is a lot for feel hockey right now participation. Yeah. And just to be clear on the question that Mariah was asking both coach Devon and yourself about the psyche of the players even in the past week or so because there would have been uncertainty about their travel because of the lack of funds. I spoke with the Trinidad and Tobago coach today Darren Coy and he he's preparing his team. I asked them if their tickets were ready and all of that. He said they're leaving with that. So that's for the association. As far as he was concerned the team is preparing and there is no thought about that. So I'm just saying from a Jamaica standpoint is this uncertainty and negative in the psyche of the players as they get ready. I think that question would be better posed to coach Henland but for me. Yes. And the response I'm getting from coach Henland and also director Dr. Holt. Yes. The sessions they've worked with the players and the fact that I've tried to be open and honest. Yes. The players recognize that there are difficulties but I I do think that they know that they're usually you know with the people through find away. We always find a way and they will be going and as such they will be putting their best for. Yeah. We're putting it out in the atmosphere. The hockey feisty and will be at the world cup in Oman. They have already qualified for it. They now just need the money to ensure they get there and the hell will come starting as soon as Mr. Stewart leaves this set. Let's take a break. Interactive to come on today's edition of the Sportsman Zone.