The Football Federation of Belize is reviewing its options with regard to hiring a new head coach for the national teams, FFB President Ruperto Vicente confirmed to Reporter on Wednesday, September 4.

Vicente said that while the FFB had retained the option to extend coach Ian Mork's contract, so far his contract has not been renewed or extended.

Mork's employment contract with the FFB was only up to the completion of the Jaguars' participation in the Gold Cup.

Vicente indicated that the FFB's executive committee is considering hiring a Belizean as head coach.

One candidate for the post could be Coach Edmund "Buzzard" Pandy of the Belmopan Bandits.

Coach Jose Palmiro Salas of BDF team, who coached Belize to its first World Cup qualifier victory against St. Kitts & Nevis at the Mateo Flores Stadium in Guatemala City in 2008, is also another potential replacement.

As to whether Assistant Coach Charlie Slusher might be among those Belizean being considered for the head coach slot, Vicente said Slusher had been suspended by the FFB before the Gold Cup and he remains on suspension.

Vicente did not say that finances are a factor in their decision, but the FFB marketing director, Marlon Kuylen, has already gone on public record that the reason the Jaguars had not yet received the remuneration package promised to them is that the FFB did not have the money because the FFB has not yet received the participation payment from CONCACAF.

Kuylen assured the players last week that as soon as the FFB received those monies from CONCACAF, the players would receive their full compensation package as promised.

With the departure of Coach Roy Sherrier Lewis soon after the Belize Jaguars returned to Belize after qualifying to the Gold Cup USA, by ranking fourth at UNCAF's Copa CentroAmerican in Costa Rica, FFB hired Ian Mork as Head Coach for the national "A" men's team.

Mork soon became the itinerant coach as he was travelling back and forth to the U.S. every fortnight, and did not really join the Jaguars full-time in Belize until June, one month before the Jaguars left for the U.S.

Whoever is finally chosen, time is of the essence since Belize is to host the Central American under-15 championships in November.

The new head coach will have barely two months to work with the "Baby Jaguars" who did Belize proud at the first ever CONCACAF U-15 championships in the Cayman Islands a fortnight ago.

The Reporter