‘Bushy’ Beckford disheartened by US visa snub

National striker Kemar 'Bushy' Beckford said he is very disappointed and frustrated after he was denied a US visa by the United States Embassy in Kingston on Wednesday to travel with the Reggae Boyz squad for their friendly international game against the US in Austria.

Beckford joins a long list of players who will be missing the match against their Concacaf rivals on March 25.

The 29-year-old Beckford, who plies his trade for Mount Pleasant Academy in the National Premier League competition, said he was very disheartened when he was told by the US consulate that he will not be granted a visa.

TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW

"I am feeling a little down that I wasn't able to make the trip to Austria, because the last time I played for the Reggae Boyz scored against Bermuda, and I also got the Man of the Match award," said Beckford.

"This is a tough pill to swallow, because this is what you work all your life for. So, I was prepared to go to Austria and showcase my talent against the US on the international stage.

"However, I won't let this get me down because I am a fighter and so I plan to come back even stronger from this. I just plan to work much harder and continue to believe in myself," Beckford said.

The stoutly built striker, who was the leading scorer when the 2019-2020 NPL season was voided, underscored that he has been given assurance by the JFF that they will assist him in sorting out the issue which led to him being denied a visa.

"There are a lot more games to come because this is just a friendly match, and so I am looking to get this sorted out and move forward," Beckford said.

"I know that the JFF will help me sort this out, because I don't think that it is anything bad on my path why I was denied the visa," he said.

Meanwhile, Beckford was among eight local-based players who failed to make the trip to Austria because of various reasons. Humble Lion goalkeeper Dennis Taylor missed the appointment altogether after receiving the notice of the arrangement belatedly.

Colorado Murray, Akeem Chambers, Trayvon Reid, Emelio Rousseau, Ricardo Thomas, and Javoy Belnavis all obtained documents but they, like Beckford and Taylor, were not among the 19-man squad for the trip because they did not make the appointment with the rest of the squad for visas at the Austrian embassy in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.