Horace Burrell
| Captain Horace Burrell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Burrell at a Press Conference in 2012 | |
| President of Jamaica Football Federation | |
| Preceded by | Crenston Boxhill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Horace Garfield Burrell February 8, 1950 Clarendon |
| Nationality | Jamaican |
| Spouse(s) | Lourea Simpson (Divorced) |
| Relations | Orville Richard Burrell (cousin), Portia Simpson-Miller (cousin) |
| Children | Tiffany Burrell Romario Burrell Tahj Burrell (deceased) |
| Residence | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Alma mater | Clarendon College St Elizabeth Technical High School |
| Occupation | Businessman, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist. |
Horace G. Burrell (also known as "Captain Burrell") (JP, OM) is the current president of the Jamaica Football Federation. He is also the Founder of the popular Jamaican restaurant chain The Captain's Bakery and Grill and Captain's Aviation Services which he founded in 1995 and 2008 respectively. Burrell is, in addition, a Vice-President of CONCACAF as well as FIFA. Burrell, through various avenues and prominence in Jamaican society is widely considered a household name amongst Jamaicans.
Early life
The son of a tobacco grower in Clarendon Parish, he later became a military Captain with the Jamaica Defence Force. He undertook basic officer training with the Canadian Armed Forces at Chilliwack, British Columbia and later New Brunswick. He would later be supervised by Colonel Ken Barnes, the father of English international footballer John Barnes. Burrell described Barnes as "a great military leader". It was Barnes who charged Burrell with looking after the JDF football team after Burrell shown Barnes a local newspaper headline "Boy's Town drill soldiers". Burrell took the JDF team to Trinidad where he first met Jack Warner, who was impressed with Burrell and kept in touch, offering him an executive position at the Caribbean Football Union.
Following a spell at the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA), he put forward his name to become President of the Jamaica Football Federation in 1994.
1998 World Cup Campaign
After being elected to office in 1994, Burrell was instrumental in leading the Reggae Boyz to the 1998 World Cup in France, making Jamaica the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. This success propelled Burrell to widespread fame in Jamaica and internationally.
FIFA Ban
On 14 October, 2011, the FIFA Ethics Committee, banned Horace Burrell for a period of six months. The Ethics Committee suspend three months of the ban, subject to a probationary period of two years, which has since been lifted and Burrell cleared of charges.[1]
Personal Life
Burrell has three children, one of whom is deceased. In July 1999, his son Tahj was murdered.[2] His daughter, Tiphani, graduated from Columbia University. Her thesis proposal, nominated for outstanding merit, culminated in a doctoral dissertation that explored reproductive behaviour among minority adolescent females.[3] His youngest son, Romario, is the first person to acquire a Private Pilot's license in 37 days and is currently attending Vanderbilt University.[4]
References
- ↑ http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/bodies/news/newsid=1527097/index.html
- ↑ "Tahj Burrell laid to rest". Jamaica Gleaner. August 3, 1999. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ↑ http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120611/flair/flair93.html
- ↑ http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/career/Training-school-gives-kids-a-flying-start-in-aviation_14869992