McKenzie calls for more Sunshine Girls support

Minister of Local Government and Community Develop-ment Desmond McKenzie has echoed his called for the country to pump a lot more resources behind Jamaica's national senior netball team.

McKenzie told STAR Sports that the country's footballers and cricketers, who have been underperforming on the international stage, have often received a lot more support instead of the Sunshine Girls who have done a lot better for the nation on the global stage.

McKenzie also said that corporate Jamaica should consider pumping a lot more resources behind the Sunshine Girls in order to help them become the number one team in the world.

"You invest in where you see development taking place and I don't believe our football is going anywhere. The cricket, as far as I am concerned, really doesn't exist, it is to me track and field and netball that are keeping us alive, internationally, in the field of sports," said McKenzie.

"They (netballers) need greater investment because they are the most consistent performers in international sports," said McKenzie.

TOPTHREE

"They are consistent in the standard of their performance and they are always in the top for four or the top three in international sports," he said.

"I think a lot more needs to be done in terms of supporting the netball so that they can go at least one step further than they are now," McKenzie said.

However, president of the Jamaica Cricket Association, Wilford 'Billy' Heaven, agrees with the McKenzie, but he said his association is making steps to revive the game locally.

"Undeniably, cricket is at a low and I don't think any reasonably person can deny that cricket is at a low and if you look at what happened recently between the West Indies and Sri Lanka that is enough to support the view that cricket is at a low and has been the case for a long time," said Heaven.

"We have revamped a lot of our programmes and we have implemented new programmes," he said.