Jamaica national football team

Jamaica
Nickname(s) The Reggae Boyz[1]
Association Jamaica Football Federation
Sub-confederation CFU (Caribbean)
Confederation CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach Winfried Schäfer
Captain Rodolph Austin
Most caps Ian Goodison (128)
Top scorer Luton Shelton (35)
Home stadium Independence Park
FIFA code JAM
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 55 Decrease 1 (5 May 2016)
Highest 27 (August 1998)
Lowest 116 (October 2008)
Elo ranking
Current 80 (June 2015)
Highest 36 (February 1998)
Lowest 146 (May 1984)
First international
 Haiti 1–2 Jamaica 
(Haiti; 22 March 1925)[2][3]
Biggest win
 Jamaica 12–0 British Virgin Islands 
(Grand Cayman, Cayman Isls.; 4 March 1994)
 Jamaica 12–0 Saint-Martin 
(Kingston, Jamaica; 24 November 2004)
Biggest defeat
 Costa Rica 9–0 Jamaica 
(San José; 24 February 1999)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1998)
Best result Round 1; 1998
CONCACAF Championship
& Gold Cup
Appearances 10 (First in 1963)
Best result Runners-up; 2015
Copa América
Appearances 2 (First in 2015)
Best result Group stage; 2015

The Jamaica national football team is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. Jamaica is typically one of the top ranked teams in CONCACAF and has won the Caribbean Cup six times, with their latest win being the 2014 Caribbean Cup when they beat Trinidad and Tobago in the finals.[4] It is the only Caribbean nation to reach a CONCACAF Gold Cup final, losing to Mexico in 2015.

Jamaica qualified once for the FIFA World Cup, in 1998. It is, along with United States, Honduras and Costa Rica, one of the rare teams from the CONCACAF region to draw against Mexico in the Estadio Azteca in a World Cup qualifier match.[5]

History

Early 20th century

Jamaica's first international appearance was against their Caribbean neighbours Haiti in 1925. They were invited to the French-speaking Caribbean island by Andre Chevalon, president of the United Sporting Society and it was for a three-match series between the 2 countries. Jamaica won all three games by 1–0, 2–1 and 3–0. The following year Jamaica hosted Haiti at Sabina Park and won by 6–0. Haiti remained frequent opponents and it was not until 1932 that their run of defeats was broken with a 4–1 home win in Port-au-Prince.[6]

Between 1925 and when Jamaica gained its independence in 1962, Jamaica had regular games with Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba and clubs like Racing and Violette from Haiti, Corinthians of Britain, Tigres from Argentina, and even a series of matches with a Caribbean All Stars team in 1952. The Caribbean All Star team included such notables as Michael (The Ruin) Kruin from Suriname and also representing Jamaica were Lindy Delapenha and Gillie Heron. The four games were shared equally with Jamaica winning the second 2–1 and the fourth 1–0 and the All Stars winning the first 5–1 and the third 1–0.

Those friendly international games were the start of Jamaica's football journey with most of the home matches being played at Sabina Park. Many clubs were established during this time including Kensington, Melbourne, Kingston, Lucas and St. George's Old Boys, thus providing the talent Jamaica needed at the times.

Post independence (1962)

In 1965, under the leadership of Brazilian coach Jorge Penna, Jamaica made its first attempt at World Cup qualifying. This was for the 1966 World Cup finals in England. The preliminary group included Cuba and the Netherlands Antilles. Jamaica's first game was against Cuba which they won 2–0 at Jamaica's National Stadium. In the qualifying match against the Netherlands Antilles, Jamaica also had a 2–0 victory with both goals coming.

In the away games Jamaica was held to a goalless draw with the Netherlands Antilles and suffered an unexpected 2–1 defeat to Cuba. Jamaica then advanced to the final group of 3 which included Costa Rica and Mexico. The winner in this group would represent the CONCACAF region. Jamaica lost at home to Mexico 3–2 and in the return leg in Mexico City the high altitude proved too much for the Jamaicans and they were defeated 8–0.

1970s

In 1968, coach George Hamilton took leadership as Jamaica made an attempt to qualify for the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico. Jamaica had only a couple remaining players from the previous World Cup team and had to rebuild because most of the players had retired or migrated to North America and England.

Jamaica lost all of their qualifying games in that year. Jamaica's participation in the 1973 CONCACAF Championship qualification elimination saw the suspension of 17 players on the team because of poor behaviour on a tour to Bermuda. Jamaica withdrew from the elimination to restructure their team. For the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Jamaica was eliminated by Cuba after two losses (3–1 at the National Stadium and then 2–0 in Havana).

1980s

Jamaica did not participate in the qualifyings for the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, in the former due to insufficient funds and a poorly prepared team, and the later because the team was suspended for affiliation fees that were due to FIFA.

1990s

For the 1989 CONCACAF Championship qualification qualifying with coach Geoffery Maxwell, Jamaica won both preliminary games against Puerto Rico 1–0 in Jamaica and 2–0 at Puerto Rico. In the next round, the United States were their next opponents and the first leg was a goalless draw. Jamaica lost the return leg in the US 5–1, ending their qualifying attempt.

In qualification for the 1994 World Cup, Jamaica first beat Puerto Rico 2–1 and was then was put in a group with Bermuda, Canada, and El Salvador, from which two teams would advance to the final round. Jamaica tied 1–1 with Canada and Bermuda and then lost 2–0 to El Salvador, 1–0 to Canada, 2–1 to El Salvador. Jamaica then beat Bermuda 3–2 but did not qualify.

In 1994, Brazilian manager René Simões was hired, along with National coach Carl Brown, with the goal of qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Simões searched for players – discovering some working at hotels, British players of Jamaican descent, and Jamaicans who played in English clubs – and funding. The Jamaican team became a "Powerhouse" in the Caribbean region and received "Best Mover" award by FIFA in 1996. Jamaica made history in 1997 becoming the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for a World Cup.[7]

In the 1998 World Cup, Jamaica ended in Group H, along with Argentina, Croatia, and Japan. Their first game was a 3–1 defeat to Croatia in Lens, with Robbie Earle scoring Jamaica's goal. It was followed by a 5–0 defeat to Argentina at Paris' Parc des Princes. Jamaica ended its participation with a 2–1 victory over Japan in Lyon, with Theodore Whitmore scoring both goals. The team finished 22nd out of the 32 teams.

2000s

In the 2002 World Cup Qualification, Jamaica finished 5th overall at the CONCACAF's final round.

The squad struggled in 2006 and 2007, leading some Jamaicans to dub them The Reggae Toyz. The team did not make it past the first stage of 2007 Caribbean Cup qualifying despite hosting the round, eliminating Jamaica from the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The team also fell during the second round of the 2006 World Cup qualification.

In July 2006, ESPN FC reported that Sven-Göran Eriksson, who had just left England, had turned down the chance to manage Jamaica, as well as an unknown Champions League club.[8]

Theodore Whitmore lead the team to impressive victories over El Salvador and Guatemala in the latter part of 2007. However, with the return of former coach Renê Simões (who led Jamaica to the 1998 World Cup), there was heavy optimism in the Reggae Boyz camps. Jamaica started their Road To South Africa 2010 campaign in fine form beating Bahamas 7–0 at home, 6–0 away. They then fought to a hard 1–1 draw with Canada but lost to Mexico and Honduras due to what was considered poor team selection from Renê Simões, which then in turn led to his firing.

Jamaica announced that Jamaica-born John Barnes would take over as manager in November 2008, with former Reggae Boy Theodore Whitmore leading the team in the interim. Jamaica were at the bottom of Group 2 in the 3rd round, but high performances saw them move up in the table. The team battled hard to 1–0 victories over Mexico and Honduras. However, the Boyz fell just short of advancing to the final round.

They managed an impressive 3–0 victory over Canada in their final third round match but failed to move on as Mexico advanced on goal difference after a 1–0 loss to Honduras. After this Theodore Whitmore decided to begin early preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They vowed to play at least one friendly a month. The squad held South Africa to a goalless draw before 15,000 spectators at Vodacom Park, South Africa.

2010s

Jamaica played three friendly matches to start of 2010, a 1–0 win over Canada at the National Stadium in Jamaica during January, 21 scored by Ricardo Fuller; a 2–1 defeat to Argentina at Mar del Plata on February, with Ryan Johnson scoring a goal; and a 2–0 defeat to South Africa in Germany on April. In August, Jamaica started their preparations for defending their Digicel Cup title with a comprehensive 3–1 win over Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain. On 5 December 2010, Jamaica defended their Digicel Cup title with a 5–4 PK win in the 2010 Caribbean Championship.

Jamaica started off strong in their opening 2011 Gold Cup match against Grenada winning 4–0. Jamaica again showed a strong performance after beating Guatemala 2–0 (a brace from Demar Phillips), therefore qualifying to the quarterfinals where they faced the US. Jamaica's Gold Cup campaign ended as they lost 2–0 .

2014 World Cup qualification attempt

In 2012 Jamaica successfully advanced to the CONCACAF Hexagonal under the guidance of Theodore Whitmore.

After six matches under Theodore Whitmore, the coach resigned after a series of poor results which included two draws and four losses. In July 2013, the J.F.F. announced Winfried Schäfer as Head Coach for the remain of the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign.[9] The JFF continued changing their technical staff following the resignation of Alfredo Montesso as Technical Director.[10]

2014

Jamaica won the Caribbean Cup in November and qualified for the Copa América Centenario.

2015

Jamaica appeared at the 2015 Copa América in Chile as an invited team. The team was eliminated after losing all three of its Group B matches 1–0 – to Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

A few weeks later, in Gold Cup 2015, Jamaica reach their first final of this tournament finals after beating USA 1–2 in the semi-final. Previously, the Jamaican team qualified first of their group, and beating Haiti 1–0 in the quarter-finals.

Stadium

The team plays their games at Independence Park, known locally as The Office, which is located in Kingston. The stadium opened in 1962 and holds 35,000 people. It got its name The Office from their 50 match unbeaten run from 1995–2001.

Kits

The kits used from 2008 to 2015 were from Italian kit provider Kappa, they debuted in their current set at the beginning of the World Cup qualifying campaign against The Bahamas. Previously there were outfitted by Uhlsport, a German apparel company. The JFF has received significant support from the United Arab Emirates-based sporting company, through a kit contract which will see all 11 national teams, both male and female, being outfitted by Romai Sportswear.

The home kit is a yellow shirt, black shorts, and yellow socks. The away is a green, yellow, and green set. There is also a black away kit.

Honours

1991, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2014

Competitive record

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
Chile 1962		 Did Not Enter
England 1966 to
Mexico 1970		 Did Not Qualify
West Germany 1974 Withdrew
Argentina 1978 Did Not Qualify
Spain 1982 Did Not Enter
Mexico 1986 Withdrew
Italy 1990 to
United States 1994		 Did Not Qualify
France 1998 Group Stage 22nd 3 1 0 2 3 9
South Korea Japan 2002 to
Brazil 2014		 Did Not Qualify
Russia 2018 To be determined
Total Group Stage 1/20 3 1 0 2 3 9

CONCACAF Championship record

Gold Cup record

CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
United States 1991 Group Stage 8th 3 0 0 3 3 12
United StatesMexico 1993 Third Place 3rd 5 1 2 2 6 10
United States 1996 Did Not Qualify
United States 1998Fourth Place4th521254
United States 2000 Group Stage 12th 2 0 0 2 0 3
United States 2002 Did Not Qualify
United States 2003 Quarter-Finals 7th 3 1 0 2 2 6
United States 2005 Quarter-Finals 8th 4 1 1 2 8 10
United States 2007 Did Not Qualify
United States 2009 Group Stage 10th 3 1 0 2 1 2
United States 2011 Quarter-Finals 5th 4 3 0 1 7 2
United States 2013 Did Not Qualify
United StatesCanada 2015 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 8 6
Total 4/9 0 titles 35 13 5 18 40 55

Caribbean Cup record

Copa América record

The Copa América includes two invited teams, with Jamaica first appearing as an invitee for the 2015 tournament. In addition, they have qualified as winners of the 2014 Caribbean Cup for the special Centernario tournament in 2016.

Schedule and recent results

Matches in last 12 months, as well as any future scheduled matches

2015

2016

Key

      Win       Draw       Loss

Players

Current squad

The following 40 players were preselected for Copa América Centenario
Caps and goals as of March 29, 2016 after the game against Costa Rica.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Andre Blake (1990-11-21) 21 November 1990 15 0 United States Philadelphia Union
1GK Duwayne Kerr (1987-02-16) 16 February 1987 14 0 Norway Sarpsborg 08
1GK Ryan Thompson (1985-01-07) 7 January 1985 7 0 United States Saint Louis FC
1GK Shaven Sean-Paul (1991-03-11) 11 March 1991 0 0 Jamaica Portmore United
1GK Akeem Chambers 0 0 Jamaica Waterhouse
2DF Jermaine Taylor (1985-01-14) 14 January 1985 85 0 United States Portland Timbers
2DF Demar Phillips (1983-09-23) 23 September 1983 72 12 United States Real Salt Lake
2DF Adrian Mariappa (1986-10-03) 3 October 1986 37 1 England Crystal Palace
2DF Kemar Lawrence (1992-09-17) 17 September 1992 31 2 United States New York Red Bulls
2DF Wes Morgan (1984-01-21) 21 January 1984 25 0 England Leicester City
2DF Alvas Powell (1994-07-18) 18 July 1994 25 0 United States Portland Timbers
2DF Michael Hector (1992-07-19) 19 July 1992 13 0 England Reading
2DF Upston Edwards (1989-10-12) 12 October 1989 4 0 Jamaica Portmore United
2DF Sergio Campbell (1992-01-16) 16 January 1992 2 0 United States Pittsburgh Riverhounds
2DF Rosario Harriott (1989-09-26) 26 September 1989 1 0 Jamaica Harbour View
2DF Oniel Fisher (1991-11-22) 22 November 1991 1 0 United States Seattle Sounders
2DF Ladale Richie (1988-05-31) 31 May 1988 0 0 Jamaica Montego Bay United
3MF Rodolph Austin (1985-06-01) 1 June 1985 84 7 Denmark Brøndby IF
3MF Je-Vaughn Watson (1983-10-22) 22 October 1983 54 2 United States New England Revolution
3MF Jobi McAnuff (1981-11-03) 3 November 1981 26 1 England Leyton Orient
3MF Simon Dawkins (1987-12-01) 1 December 1987 20 3 United States San Jose Earthquakes
3MF Garath McCleary (1987-05-15) 15 May 1987 19 3 England Reading
3MF Joel Grant (1987-08-26) 26 August 1987 12 1 England Exeter City
3MF Lee Williamson (1982-06-07) 7 June 1982 4 0 England Blackburn Rovers
3MF Andrew Vanzie (1990-11-26) 26 November 1990 3 0 Jamaica Humble Lions
3MF Ricardo Morris (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 1 0 Jamaica Portmore United
3MF Allan Ottey (1992-12-18) 18 December 1992 1 0 Jamaica Montego Bay United
3MF Omar Holness (1994-03-13) 13 March 1994 1 0 United States Real Salt Lake
3MF Michael Binns (1988-08-12) 12 August 1988 0 0 Jamaica Portmore United
3MF Vishinuel Harris (1993-07-28) 28 July 1993 0 0 Jamaica Arnett Gardens
3MF Chevone Marsh (1994-02-25) 25 February 1994 0 0 Jamaica Cavalier
3MF Damano Solomon 0 0 Jamaica Portmore United
4FW Darren Mattocks (1990-09-02) 2 September 1990 36 12 United States Portland Timbers
4FW Giles Barnes (1988-08-05) 5 August 1988 14 3 United States Houston Dynamo
4FW Dever Orgill (1990-03-08) 8 March 1990 5 0 Finland IFK Mariehamn
4FW Clayton Donaldson (1984-02-07) 7 February 1984 4 1 England Birmingham City
4FW Romeo Parkes (1990-11-20) 20 November 1990 4 1 United States Pittsburgh Riverhounds
4FW Andre Clennon (1989-08-15) 15 August 1989 4 0 Finland VPS Vaasa
4FW Jamar Loza (1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 4 0 England Southend United
4FW Junior Flemmings (1996-01-16) 16 January 1996 0 0 United States New York Red Bulls II

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Jamaica squad in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Dwayne Miller (1987-07-14) 14 July 1987 38 0 Sweden Syrianska v.  Nicaragua, 3 September 2015
GK Damion Hyatt (1985-12-23) 23 December 1985 0 0 Jamaica Arnett Gardens 2015 Copa América preliminary squad
DF Shaun Cummings (1989-02-25) 25 February 1989 2 0 England Millwall v.  South Korea, 13 October 2015
DF Lance Laing (1988-02-28) 28 February 1988 10 0 United States Minnesota United v.  South Korea, 13 October 2015
DF Richard Dixon (1990-02-23) 23 February 1990 0 0 United States Saint Louis 2015 Copa América preliminary squad
MF Daniel Gordon (1985-01-16) 16 January 1985 5 1 Germany Karlsruher 2015 Copa América
FW Deshorn Brown (1990-12-22) 22 December 1990 14 2 Norway Vålerenga v.  South Korea, 13 October 2015
FW Michael Seaton (1996-05-01) 1 May 1996 13 2 United States Portland Timbers v.  South Korea, 13 October 2015
FW Dino Williams (1990-03-31) 31 March 1990 8 0 United States Indy Eleven 2015 Copa América

Records

As of March 29 2016
Players in bold text are still active with Jamaica.

Most Caps[11]
# Player Caps Goals Career
1 Ian Goodison 128 10 1996–2009
2 Linval Dixon 127 3 1993–2003
3 Theodore Whitmore 120 24 1993–2004
4 Ricardo Gardner 111 9 1997–2012
5 Warren Barrett 108 0 1990–2000
6 Andy Williams 107 22 1997–2008
7 Durrant Brown 102 0 1992–1998
8 Donovan Ricketts 100 0 1999–2013
9 Fabian Davis 88 6 1995–2007
10 Chris Dawes 85 1 1995–2001
Top Goalscorers[11]
# Player Goals Caps Career
1 Luton Shelton 35 75 2004–2013
2 Onandi Lowe 27 81 1995–2004
3 Theodore Whitmore 24 120 1993–2004
4 Andy Williams 22 97 1997–2008
5 Paul Young 22 49 1989–1997
6 Walter Boyd 19 75 1991–2001
7 Paul Davis 18 61 1983–1997
8 Hector Wright 16 71 1988–1997
9 Paul Hall 14 48 1997–2003
10 Deon Burton 13 61 1997–2009

UB40s

The term UB40 is used in Jamaica to describe players born in the United Kingdom who have gone on to represent Jamaica at international football. The term is a nod to the reggae band UB40 whose members were born in the United Kingdom.[12][13]

Managers

Current coaching staff

[14][15][16]

Name Nat Position
Winfried Schäfer [17] Germany Head coach
Miguel Coley Jamaica Assistant coach
Warren Barrett Jamaica Goalkeeping coach
Patrick Walters Jamaica National Coordinator
Roy Simpson Jamaica Team Manager
Linnel McLean Jamaica Head of delegation

[18]

Manager history

Name From To
Jamaica Geoffrey Maxwell 1989 1990
Jamaica Carl Brown 1990 July 1994
Brazil René Simões August 1994 February 2000
Brazil Sebastião Lazaroni March 2000 May 2000
Brazil Clovis De Olivera June 2000 September 2001
Jamaica Carl Brown December 2001 August 2004
Brazil Sebastião Lazaroni August 2004 November 2004
Jamaica Wendell Downswell November 2004 August 2006
Jamaica Carl Brown September 2006 October 2006
Serbia Mexico Bora Milutinović November 2006 November 2007
Jamaica Theodore Whitmore December 2007 January 2008
Brazil René Simões January 2008 October 2008
Jamaica Theodore Whitmore October 2008 November 2008
England John Barnes December 2008 May 2009
Jamaica Theodore Whitmore June 2009 June 2013
Germany Winfried Schäfer June 2013 present

References

  1. ↑ "Reggae Boyz". The Jamaica Football Federation. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Courtney, Barrie (5 June 2006). "Jamaica – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  3. ↑ "Jamaica Men’s National Football Team International Record". Jamaica Football Federation. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "Reggae Boyz defeat T&T to take 2014 Caribbean Cup – News". Jamaica Observer.
  5. ↑ "Mexico 0–0 Jamaica Match Report". fifa.com. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "History of Jamaica's Football". Jamaica Football Federation's. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  7. ↑ "The Reggae Boyz, Jamaica Football History and World Cup Qualifying Results". thereggaeboyz.com.
  8. ↑ "Offers already rolling in for unemployed Eriksson". 9 July 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Winning mentality – New coach Schafer says that’s what it will take – Sport". Jamaica Observer.
  10. ↑ http://www.jamaicafootballfederation.com/v1/statement-from-the-jff-re-technical-director/
  11. 1 2 Mamrud, Roberto. "Jamaica – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Wright, Nodley (24 August 2000). "Hall hangs up internation [sic] boots". Jamaica Gleaner. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Player profiles – Jamaica 1998". Sports Illustrated. 1998. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  14. ↑ https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Brazilians-booted----Gama--Bracali-casualties-of-Carib-Cup-calamity_13313939
  15. ↑ "Montesso appointed Reggae Boyz technical director – Sport". Jamaica Observer.
  16. ↑ "Whitmore fired... Reggae Boyz coach asked to resign". Jamaica Gleaner.
  17. ↑ "Schafer arrives today for new stint as national football coach – Sport". Jamaica Observer.
  18. ↑ "VIDEO:Gama returns as Reggae Boyz TD". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 13 May 2011.

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