Mum’s the word
JFF unwilling to reveal names on coaches shortlist
Published:Thursday | July 18, 2024 | 12:09 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
GENERAL SECRETARY of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Dennis Chung says the process of selecting the new Reggae Boyz coach will enter the interview stage and is expected to be completed by next week.
However, Chung refused to disclose the shortlist of five candidates, which was narrowed down from more than 40, insisting that only the winning candidate will be announced when the decision is finalised.
Nevertheless, he expects the team’s Concacaf Nations League game on September 6 against Cuba at the National Stadium to be the first opportunity for the new coach.
Former coach Heimir Hallgrimsson handed in his resignation after losing three group matches in the Copa América recently, and Chung, who described the Icelander’s departure as “unfortunate”, said it is now behind them and that some very prestigious names are in the running for the Jamaica head coach job.
“I know everybody wants to know in terms of what happened with the coach. It is unfortunate that it happened like that, but we have moved on.
“But immediately after the information came out (that Hallgrimsson left), we started receiving expressions of interest from some very big names across the world.
“We ended up getting over 40 and have narrowed it down to about five, and we are actually in the process of doing the interviews,” he said.
Although he refrained from giving names, he revealed that former Trinidad and Tobago international and former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke was on the list of applicants but would not say if he was one of the five remaining.
DOWN TO FIVE
“The technical chair said we are down to five. But I haven’t necessarily seen the names on the shortlist.
“The public will hear very shortly who the coach is. But I can tell you there are some very exciting prospects with some very good track records.
“Jamaica has never stood a better chance of going to the World Cup, and every coach wants to take a team to the World Cup.
“He (Yorke) has applied. To say if he’s in the five, I don’t want to say specifically if he is in. We will actually see the coach on September 6. We are playing Cuba at the National Stadium. But by August, we should have our new coach in place.
“But we will be doing the interviews over the next week or so. And then we will announce the successful candidate,” he said.
Chung also spoke about the National Stadium lights, saying that replacements had been installed and would go under inspection next week before the JFF sends a third-party report to Concacaf for approval.
“We have gotten word that the lights have been installed and they are going to be testing it by a certain time next week, and based on that, we will give the report to Concacaf and have them sign off on the stadium for the approval of night games.
“Once that happens, we will announce the time. September 6 is a Friday, and we are aiming for about 7:00 p.m.