May 27 – Jamaica will join Mexico in CONMEBOL’s Copa America tournament in Chile in 2015, the 44th time the competition has been held. The 45th edition in its hundredth year – Copa America Centenario – will be held by CONCACAF in the US in 2016.
The Copa America is played between the 10 South American (CONMEBOL) federations, but the competition frequently invites guest nations to play – Mexico generally enters and Japan has been present in the past.
This is the first time Jamaica will compete. They will have the opportunity to compete against the South Americans a second time in 2016 if they win the Caribbean Football Union Cup later this year in Montego Bay.
Captain Horace Burrell, a CONCACAF vice-president and president of the Jamaican FA, told the Jamaican Observer newspaper that the invitation reflected the strength of the country’s football brand.
“Our neighbours in CONCACAF, and even football regions further afield, have recognised Jamaica’s potential in football. I think people are taking notice of our organisation and our broader development efforts as a football-playing nation,” he said.
“There’s no doubt about the talent that is available to us, and there are those who admire the uniqueness of our athleticism, so really it’s just a matter of time before Jamaica’s football explodes, and there are those who believe in this potential.”
Burrell is confident that Jamaica is making football progress but focus internally needs to be on improving facilities and playing surfaces for junior players, “then we will be on our way,” he said.
Jamaica made history by becoming the first English speaking country from the Caribbean to qualify for the world cup finals in France in1998. The Reggae Boyz generated a cult following amongst British fans, especially the Scots who had failed to qualify for the tournament.
The only other English speaking Caribbena nation to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament was Trinidad and Tobago for Germany 2006.
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