Date set for English’s funeral

Almost four months after the death of former national footballer Irvino English, his mother, Marjorie Powell, is now feeling a sense of relief that her son will be buried on July 26.

English was shot dead on Ashoka Road in Waterhouse, St Andrew, on February 26.

The midfielder received multiple bullets to the upper body and was pronounced dead at the Kingston Public Hospital.

Powell told STAR Sports that the funeral was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government's restrictions on public gathering.

She said English's only child, Rivaldo, who attends university in the United States, returning to Jamaica last week to aid with the preparations.

"Honestly, I am feeling good to know that we have now finalised a date, now that his son is here," Powell said. "God knows that this lick me very hard, but I have my family around and I try to cope with it. When I looked at his picture over my bed, I just cried myself to sleep, but I am getting there with the help of God."

She says that English was a good person in his community and is missed by everyone.

"Sometimes we talk about him, and everybody just cries," she said. "So it is going to take us a while to get over this, trust me.

"It is going to be tough to bury him, but we are going to lay him to rest because it has been a while now, so I am just happy about this. His babymother has been with me right through these tough times and I must thank her for that."

English will be buried at the Meadowrest Memorial Gardens in St Catherine.

He represented Jamaica on five occasions between 2001 and 2002. This included matches in the FIFA World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign.