Widening the pool
Published:Sunday | March 21, 2021 | 12:44 AMRobert Bailey - Sunday Gleaner Writer
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Dalton Wint, general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), said despite the absence of a number of key players, as a result of the ongoing contract discussions between the association and senior team members, he is confident that the...
Dalton Wint, general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), said despite the absence of a number of key players, as a result of the ongoing contract discussions between the association and senior team members, he is confident that the team will put on a good showing against the United States in their friendly international on March 25.
Wint also underlined that it was important that the JFF widens the pool of players available to head coach Theodore Whitmore and his technical staff, especially in light of the ongoing negotiations and a busy upcoming international schedule for the national senior team.
The match will be played at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Austria starting at noon (Jamaica time).
“We are fairly comfortable with the squad because these are players that have experienced and they offer quality to the team,” Wint told The Sunday Gleaner.
Bristol City’s midfielder Kasey Palmer and Swansea City’s striker Jamal Lowe have been drafted into the updated Reggae Boyz 20-man squad, which was announced yesterday.
The 24-year-old Palmer, who has represented England at all youth levels, has netted one goal in the English Championships this season. Lowe, 26, has netted nine goals for Swansea in 30 appearances in the English Championships so far this season.
Former Manchester United midfielder Ravel Morrison, who was initially selected in the team, has opted out of the squad.
Missing from the line-up
The likes of regular team captain and custodian Andre Blake, defenders Damion Lowe and Kemar Lawrence along with Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey are also missing from the line-up to face the Americans.
“What we want to do it is widen the base and to have options (and) because of the situation we are in, we have to call on the resources that we have ... the pool (of players) has to be a very large one and a very competitive one,” Wint said.
The Reggae Boyz recently rejected the JFF’s latest contract offer, which will see starting players earning US$2,000 (J$301,000) per match for each World Cup qualifier with substitutes and unused subs earning US$1,500 (J$226,000) and US$1,000 (J$151,000), respectively. The offer also included a US$1,500 bonus for every win and US$1,000 for every draw.
Negotiations are continuing between both parties.
The squad is completed by: Jeadine White, Kemar Foster, Adrian Mariappa, Michael Hector, Curtis Tilt, Amari Bell, Ethan Pinnock, Liam Moore, Wesley Harding, Renaldo Wellington, Chavany Willis, Ricardo Morris, Jabari Hylton, Andre Gray, Omar Holness, Kevaughn Isaacs, John Luca Levee and Shaven Paul.