Jamaica Football Federation
Encyclopedia
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the governing body of football in Jamaica
and is in charge of the Jamaican national team
and the Jamaican National Premier League
.
Jamaica's first international appearance was against their Caribbean
neighbors Haiti
in 1925. They were invited to the French-speaking Caribbean island by Andre Chevalon, president of the then United Sporting Society and it was for a three-match series between the two countries. Jamaica won all three games by 1-0, 2-1 and 3-0. The following year Jamaica hosted their Haitian counterparts at Sabina Park
and won by 6-0. The Haitians 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
.
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
, the Tigers from Argentina
, and even a series of matches with a Caribbean All Stars team in 1952. The Caribbean All Stars 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-O.
Those friendly international games were the start of Jamaica's football quest 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 time.
In 1965 under the leadership of Brazil
ian 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, the Netherlands Antilles
, and Jamaica. 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 a 2-1 defeat to Cuba. Jamaica then advanced to the final group of 3 which included Costa Rica
and Mexico
. The winner of 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 to much for the Jamaicans and they were defeated 8-0. Jamaica lost 7-0 to Costa Rica in their first encounter and had a 1-1 tie when they played at home.
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 1974 World Cup elimination saw the suspension of 17 players on the team because of poor behavior on a tour to Bermuda. Jamaica withdrew from the elimination in order to restructure their team.
The 1978 Word Cup in Argentina saw Jamaica playing Cuba and losing 3-1 at the National Stadium
and then 2-0 in Havana
Cuba. Jamaica did not qualify.
In 1982 Jamaica did not make an attempt for the World Cup Final set in Spain
due to insufficient funds and a poorly prepared team. Jamaica did not participate in the 1986 World Cup because suspension for affiliation fees that was due to FIFA
.
In preparation for the 1990 World Cup with coach Jeffery Maxwell Jamaica won both preliminary games against Puerto Rico 1-0 in Jamaica and 2-0 at Puerto Rico. The U.S. were the next opponents and was held to a goalless draw. The return leg in the U.S. saw Jamaica losing 5-1 bringing an end to their qualifying attempt.
The United States
hosted the World Cup 1994. In qualifying Jamaica beat Puerto Rico 2-1 and was then faced 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.
Under Brazilian Professor Renê Simões
and National coach Carl Brown, the Jamaican team has become a powerhouse in the Caribbean region and received "Best Mover" award by FIFA in 1996. Their ranking continues to change as they get closer to the finals on their road to France.
Jamaica made history by becoming the first English
speaking country from the Caribbean to ever qualify for the world cup finals.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and is in charge of the Jamaican national team
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...
and the Jamaican National Premier League
Jamaican National Premier League
The National Premier League, also known as the Jamaican National Premier League and, for sponsorship purposes, the Red Stripe Premier League, is the first division football league in the nation of Jamaica. Twelve teams currently compete in the league.The competition is divided in three stages in...
.
History
According to records available football is introduced in Jamaica towards the end of the 19th century and 1893 is listed as the year Jamaica formed its first football club.Jamaica's first international appearance was against their Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
neighbors Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
in 1925. They were invited to the French-speaking Caribbean island by Andre Chevalon, president of the then United Sporting Society and it was for a three-match series between the two countries. Jamaica won all three games by 1-0, 2-1 and 3-0. The following year Jamaica hosted their Haitian counterparts at Sabina Park
Sabina Park
Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
and won by 6-0. The Haitians 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
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
.
Between 1925 and when Jamaica gained its independence in 1962, Jamaica had regular games with Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, Haiti, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and clubs like Racing
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
and Violette
Violette Athletic Club
Violette Athletic Club is a Haitian football club, one of the nation's most successful. The club is located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and plays in the Stade Sylvio Cator.Violette A.C. won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1984...
from Haiti, Corinthians
Corinthians F.C.
The Corinthian Football Club was a football team based in London playing at various venues including Crystal Palace and Queen's Club. The team was founded in 1882 by N...
of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Tigers from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and even a series of matches with a Caribbean All Stars team in 1952. The Caribbean All Stars team included such notables as Michael (The Ruin) Kruin from Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
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-O.
Those friendly international games were the start of Jamaica's football quest 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 time.
In 1965 under the leadership of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian coach Jorge Penna, Jamaica made its first attempt at World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
qualifying. This was for the 1966 World Cup finals in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The preliminary group included Cuba, the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
, and Jamaica. 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 a 2-1 defeat to Cuba. Jamaica then advanced to the final group of 3 which included Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The winner of this group would represent the CONCACAF
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
region. Jamaica lost at home to Mexico 3-2 and in the return leg in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
the high altitude proved to much for the Jamaicans and they were defeated 8-0. Jamaica lost 7-0 to Costa Rica in their first encounter and had a 1-1 tie when they played at home.
In 1968 coach George Hamilton
George Hamilton (footballer)
-External links:* *...
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
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and England. Jamaica lost all of their qualifying games in that year.
Jamaica's participation in the 1974 World Cup elimination saw the suspension of 17 players on the team because of poor behavior on a tour to Bermuda. Jamaica withdrew from the elimination in order to restructure their team.
The 1978 Word Cup in Argentina saw Jamaica playing Cuba and losing 3-1 at the National Stadium
National stadium
Many countries have a national football stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadium. Usually, a national stadium will be in or very...
and then 2-0 in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
Cuba. Jamaica did not qualify.
In 1982 Jamaica did not make an attempt for the World Cup Final set in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
due to insufficient funds and a poorly prepared team. Jamaica did not participate in the 1986 World Cup because suspension for affiliation fees that was due to FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
.
In preparation for the 1990 World Cup with coach Jeffery Maxwell Jamaica won both preliminary games against Puerto Rico 1-0 in Jamaica and 2-0 at Puerto Rico. The U.S. were the next opponents and was held to a goalless draw. The return leg in the U.S. saw Jamaica losing 5-1 bringing an end to their qualifying attempt.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hosted the World Cup 1994. In qualifying Jamaica beat Puerto Rico 2-1 and was then faced Bermuda, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
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.
Under Brazilian Professor Renê Simões
Renê Simões
René Rodrigues Simões is a Brazilian football head coach and former footballer.- Coaching career :Born in Rio de Janeiro, he guided Jamaica to the World Cup in France in 1998...
and National coach Carl Brown, the Jamaican team has become a powerhouse in the Caribbean region and received "Best Mover" award by FIFA in 1996. Their ranking continues to change as they get closer to the finals on their road to France.
Jamaica made history by becoming the first English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speaking country from the Caribbean to ever qualify for the world cup finals.
Presidents
- Ronald Gordon (1965 - 1967)
- George Abraham (1967 - 1973)
- B "Tino" Barvier (1973 - 1975)
- Locksley Comrie (1975 - 1977)
- Patrick Anderson (1977 - 1979)
- Lincoln Sutherland (1979 - 1981)
- Hugh Perry (1981 - 1983)
- Dr. Winston Dawes (1983 - 1985)
- Anthony James (1985 - 1992)
- Heron Dale (1992 - 1994)
- Captain Horace Burrell (1994 - 2003)
- Crenston Boxhill (2003 - 2007)
- Captain Horace Burrell (2007–Present)
External links
- Official website
- Jamaica at the FIFA website.