Rest of U17 Boyz squad to leave for Guatemala today

Jamaica Football Federation general secretary Dennis Chung gave reassurances that the 14 members of the Under-17 squad that did not make their flight will be bound for the Concacaf Under-17 Championships today.

His comments come as 14 members of the 20-man squad did not leave for Guatemala yesterday, where the tournament is scheduled to take place. The mishap comes two days before the young Reggae Boyz open their campaign against Cuba. The team were slated to leave the island via Montego Bay yesterday, however, only six players made their flight. According to Chung, the delay was because of a documentation issue regarding their exemption to travel, which was not received in time for their departure.

“Although they had received the exemption to travel, the exemption letter came in late, so they did not get to make it on the flight. But just to assure everyone, we are working assiduously to ensure that this is resolved along with our travel consultant as well as the airline,” Chung said yesterday. A visa is required to travel to Guatemala, however, The Gleaner understands that the letter of exemption was needed for 14 players as the other six players had United States visas, which meant that they did not need a visa to travel to Guatemala

FINAL GAME

The young Boyz had just completed their two-match series against Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday at St Elizabeth Technical High School, the final game in their preparations for the tournament after a month-long camp. With their opener only 48 hours away, Chung said yesterday that they were making every effort to make sure that the remaining members were in Guatemala by tonight.

“We are expecting to get most if not all on a flight tomorrow to get to Guatemala now that we have the exemption letter in hand so that we can begin our quest for the World Cup for the Under-17’s,” Chung said.

That declaration was confirmed later in the afternoon as the 14 members were booked on a Copa Airlines flight out of Kingston, which is scheduled to leave this afternoon.

“We have worked through all the issues that we have, and they will all be on the flight tomorrow from Kingston. Thanks to Copa Airlines, they have worked very well with us on this. So we are happy that the boys will be in Guatemala by 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday night,” Chung said.

Jamaica are seeking to qualify for the Under-17 World Cup later this year for the first time since 2011. They placed fourth in the Under-17 championship that year, which is their highest finish to date. Jamaica are also grouped with Costa Rica and Guadeloupe.