THE age-old cry for better playing fields rang out from Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell on Thursday last as he sought help from China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

“I want to seriously throw out a challenge to China Harbour,” Burrell said during the Red Stripe Premier League Awards Ceremony at the Courtleigh Auditorium.

With a few of CHEC’s senior executives in attendance, Burrell noted the inadequate standard of nearly all of the surfaces on which local club football is played, and called on the engineering firm to begin talks with the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) to forge a possible partnership.

“I want to… ask China Harbour to come up with a plan. In fact, this is going to be sold to the (PLCA) that they could dialogue with China Harbour where China Harbour would assist each of the Premier League clubs in establishing at least one proper playing surface.

Riding on the vocal support of some in the audience, Burrell continued: “I don’t think that’s too difficult to ask China Harbour and I think China Harbour will do it. I think they are waiting for such a request.”

Responding to Burrell’s plea, Jennifer Armond, the CHEC communications manager, told the Jamaica Observer her company is not averse to the concept, but will “have to see a proposal in writing and have an idea of costs, etc” before providing a definitive answer.

She suggested that there is a possibility that CHEC could initiate the project and another party could be involved in the completion of it.

“If we were to roll an area, get it flat and put in grass seeds perhaps there can be another company to help with irrigation and maintenance,” Armond said.

CHEC, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, is a globally-renowned international contractor with bases in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

China Harbour is the contractor behind the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme, an operation aimed at revitalising the island’s roads and bridges.

CHEC is responsible for work done on the Palisadoes Road and the construction of a highway linking Spanish Town, St Catherine to Ocho Rios, St Ann.

The Chinese firm was a sponsor of the 2013-14 Premier League, handing out monthly prizes for the CHEC Star Baller and CHEC Star Coach awards.

The JFF boss insisted that a China Harbour move to improve the clubs’ playing fields could pave the way for the company having a “much easier life in Jamaica” and also provide more scope for brand recognition.

Drawing on the successes of 19-year-old Liverpool FC and England International player Raheem Sterling, a Jamaican who emigrated to London as a child, Burrell said there are plenty similarly talented footballers on local soil.

“The talent is here… but we cannot continue to play football on these surfaces.

“China Harbour, I’m pleading with you tonight to make a pledge to assist each of the 12 Premier League clubs,” he said.