Alvas Powell was back at Portland Timbers training Friday morning after leaving the Jamaican national team ahead of their quarterfinal match in the Gold Cup this weekend.
It was reported that the 20-year-old right back was upset with a lack of playing time in the tournament, but Powell released a statement Friday afternoon that refuted that claim.
“Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologize to the people of Jamaica, the [Jamaican Football Federation] and my teammates,” Powell’s statement reads. “I am truly sorry this situation has occurred, as I wanted to play for my country in the Gold Cup. Unfortunately, things were not handled right and I take full responsibility for my actions, but this wasn’t to do with lack of playing time.”
Powell didn’t cite a reason for his departure in the statement “out of respect” for Jamaica’s continuing preparation for their Saturday match against Haiti (8 pm ET; Fox Sports 2, Univision). Jamaican outlet The Gleaner reported that Powell’s departure was due to his not featuring in Jamaica’s first two group-stage matches before coming on as a substitute in their quarterfinals-clinching victory against El Salvador on Tuesday.
“I told [Powell], ‘your time is coming,’” Jamaica head coach Winfried Schafer told The Gleaner. “We need all players. … Now we need him, he told me he don’t want to play. You have no chance when you think about I, I, I. No, it’s we that’s important; we, the team, that’s important.”
Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said Powell, who started all 19 of Portland’s games prior to his departure for Gold Cup duty with Jamaica, will be available for their Saturday home match against the Vancouver Whitecaps (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE in the US, TSN/RDS2 in Canada).
“We’ve chatted about it; obviously it’s between the player and the federation,” Porter told the media after the Timbers’ Friday training session. “… It’s not a decision he took lightly. Alvas is one of the most professional players I’ve coached, obviously a loyal guy. And I know playing for his country means a lot. There were some things that happened that he didn’t necessarily like, and that was his decision, so he has to live with that now.”
Powell has 13 caps with the Jamaican senior team, and he captained their U-20 side to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in 2013. He started all four games in Jamaica’s run to the Caribbean Cup championship last fall but wasn’t called in for the Reggae Boyz’s three Copa América games last month despite being added to their preliminary roster.
“Hopefully I can work through these things with the manager and federation as representing my country is an honor and something I take great pride in, and in the future I very much want to be a part of my country’s national team,” Powell continued in his statement. “I am confident the Boyz will continue to have success and I am 100 percent behind the team.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
