Hallgrimsson to continue local evaluation with first camp
Published:Wednesday | January 18, 2023 | 12:20 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
HEIMIR HALLGRIMSSON’S first full year as national senior men’s team head coach has begun with the continued evaluation of Jamaica’s local talent.
The first training camp of 2023 started yesterday.
Hallgrimsson named a 32-man squad that will participate in two training sessions at the UWI/JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, which concludes this afternoon at 3.
The invitees are mostly comprised of players from Jamaica Premier League (JPL) leaders Mount Pleasant Academy, including joint leading goalscorer Trivante Stewart as well as five from 2021 champions Cavalier SC, including national defender Richard King and joint leading scorer, Collin Anderson.
Hallgrimsson has been in the island since last Wednesday and has attended the Sunday and Monday night JPL doubleheaders at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex as part of his bid to acclimatise himself to Jamaican football as well as to assess the talent of the local-based players, something that he said is one of his main priorities during his first few weeks.
“The next month is to get to know the local football, see as many matches as I can and see the future players of Jamaica here in the country. So that is my next two weeks,” Hallgrmsson said in an interview with RJR Sports last Wednesday. Hallgrimsson’s team of assistant coach John Wall and goalkeeping coach Guomundur Hreidarsson has also made the move to Jamaica.
Hallgrimsson will also have a chance to see the best schoolboy football has to offer with Manning Cup and Champions Cup MVP and golden boot winner Dujuan Richards of Kingston College and daCosta Cup MVP Malachi Douglas of Clarendon College and JPL outfit Chapelton Maroons also included in the squad.
Hallgrimsson will have less than two months to prepare for the Reggae Boyz first assignment of the year, their Concacaf Nations League clash against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, which will be played without fans in attendance.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee handed down the punishment on January 13 because of discriminatory chants from fans at the 2022 World Cup as well as a fine of US$108,000.