What's the word on Convey's passport situation? [-R- poss.]

Screw it, Knave - do it just like the old days when he was at United and blame Thomas Rongen!!!

Seriously, for this gaffe there is absolutely NOOO excuse. And, it's not like the Federation shouldn't know about this little regulation.

We just hosted the Women's Gold Cup; we host the Men's Gold Cup every 2 years going back to 1991; we hosted U17 qualifying in St. Louis last year; we hosted Olympic qualifying in 2000; we hosted the Women's World Cup in 1999; we hosted the Olympic soccer tournaments in 1996; we hosted the 1994 World Cup and since then we've had 16 World Cup qualifers here in the US.

It ain't like we don't have experience hosting FIFA-sanctioned matches!

I mean, the players have been here since November 4 - there should have been an administrator who collected each player's passport LAST WEEK and then had the missing ones - apparently back-up 'keeper Clint Baumstark didn't have his passport either, which could have been quite a dicey situation had Cronin been hurt - FedEx-ed to Charleston so that they arrived DAYS AGO!!!!

Un-frikkin-believable. Had this fisaco cost the US some points, we'd have never heard the end of this, and for good reason.

 

That is so f'ed up.

 

poor administration in the USSF? i simply don't believe it.

 

Whoever was responsible for this should be fired -- right now.

 

Article in today's paper had some more info on the subject, and apparently Convey isn't the only one with passport problems:

http://www.charleston.net/pub/sports/sportslede/14u20.htm

Excerpt: "...The U.S. side had to contend with unsettling news less than an hour
before the match when team captain Bobby Convey, who was expected
to dictate the team's pace of play, was ruled ineligible when his
passport did not arrive from his house in Washington, D.C. CONCACAF
requires players to have a passport to prove their age.
"It was sent last Wednesday and it just isn't here yet," said Convey,
a three-year veteran of D.C. United of Major League Soccer. "We talked
with the people and they said a birth certificate would be fine. ... Then
20 minutes before the game they wouldn't let me play.
"It's really unfortunate. I feel like I let my team down."
U.S. Soccer will try to get Convey a replacement passport today in
Charleston.
Backup goalkeeper Clint Baumstark also is trying to sort out a
passport problem. ..."

 

Maybe they should carry their passports with them instead of sending them in the mail.

Or were they waiting on a renewal?

 

Yea, it's not tough to get a passport in a day

 

You can get a passport in a day at the K Street office, if you can show immediate need. Or at least you could pre-9/11.
Mark

 

Sounds like the head of a Fed Ex guy will roll. Or maybe no one.

Some official from US Soccer probably asked Convey when he arrived in South Carolina, "Where's your passport?"

"Passport, I need a passport?" Convey says. "But we're in the States."

"Yeah, FIFA says you need a passport to play."

"But I left it at home."

"No problem, we'll just have it Fed Exed."

So they have it Fed Exed to the place where they're training (I'm guessing) and they guy who gets it is some flunkie who sweeps the floors. He says: "Bobby Convey? There ain't no Bobby Convey working here." So Fed Ex sends it back to DC.

Cue sit com laugh-track...

 

Really, I didn't know that. I thought the "expedite" option still took 14 days. I'll file that one away.

 

Yes, I was in the US embassy in Argentina for some paperwork and sat next to a guy who was getting a replacement in just a few hours after losing his passport at his hotel. He needed it to fly that evening. It can be done.

 

Expedite works. I wouldn't have gone to Korea without writing the word "EXPEDITE" on the envelope in huge black letters.

 

Is it possible that whoever was mailing it from DC didn't send it overnight because they figured that they had a full week to get it there?

Regardless, this is a stupid and embarassing mix-up. Convey has to take some of the blame himself too. If you are a professional and international soccer player, you need to understand that your passport goes with you everywhere. USSF should have someone double-checking the players as a safeguard but it starts with Convey.

Murf

 

embarassingly, i have gotten a "same day" passport twice.

 

You went to Korea in an envelope?

 

At the press conference last night, Bobby said he thought his passport had expired and according to FIFA, they said his birth certificate would suffice for eligiblity to play. After arriving down here someone from his house phoned him and told him his passport wasn't expired and that they sent it 2nd day priority mail. Unfortunatnely for him, it hadn't arrived before the matche. Then about 30 minutes before the match he was told his birth certificate wasn't good enough and he would be ineligible by FIFA officals. He said he wasn't sure why it hadn't arrived, he thought it might be because of the holiday weekend and was hoping to get replacemnet one today from a passport office here in South Carolina.

He also said he felt he had let the team down and felt bad about what was happening.

I feel it was a bit his fault, a bit the fault of who ever sent it in the mail and not with an overnight service, and a bit of faulty information from FIFA.

Mikey

 

It's now taken care of and Bobby is set to play vs. El Salvador on Friday.

 

Interestingly, a similar thing happened to Joe Cannon earlier this year. In the CONCACAF Champions Cup return leg against Pachuca at Spartan Stadium, Jon Conway played instead of the regular Quakes keeper because Joe had forgotten to bring his passport.

 

Geez, when my mother-in-law forgot her passport when we went to the Dominican Republic, some sweet talking and a few greenbacks took care of the problem, no sweat.

 

My Name

In a post a few up from this under my name 'JerLon' it says that all is good with Convey and he is ready to go. Interestingly enough, I didn't post it. I may have left my name in a computer in my hotel and someone after me (alot of soccer fans here in the hotel using big soccer) probably posted it. What I would like to know is, who is it, and how do they know?

 

How do you forget your friggin' passport, especially when you know it's going to be needed?

 

Baumstark?

Any updates on Baumstark's passport problems?

Is he going to get his passport problems straightened out before the El Salvador game?

I think he's playing for UAB tonight.