Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have been drawn in Group A of the Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) Caribbean Cup, along with French Guiana, Cuba and the Dominica Republic and a strong 30-man squad will be named on Friday, assistant coach Alfredo Montesso told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
Jamaica, the two-time defending champions, will not have the players from England available and the squad will be selected from those plying their trade in the US Major League, players from the Scandinavian countries and from the local premier league.
“We will not because they (English-based players) will be in competition, so we will have players from the MSL and Scandinavia and local players,” Montesso confirmed.
But according to the Brazilian coach, he has seen Jamaica placed in two different groups, which has confused him and he is currently seeking clarification on the matter.
Preparations are well underway for Jamaica to defend their title at the 16th edition of the tournament and the players should be in camp by Sunday, November 25.
“We are starting the camp with 30 players and will include some young boys… to have the connection between the youth programme and the transition.
“At the end of the preparation, the squad will be reduced to 23 that will travel to Antigua,” Montesso pointed out.
With Jamaica through to the six-team final stage of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, Montesso said this tournament will be used for more than one purpose.
“We want to qualify as one of the teams to the Gold Cup and Jamaica is the champion of the competition, so we have to be really strong.”
The top four teams in the Caribbean Cup will qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA, starting July 7, 2013.
“We have to take this opportunity to have a strong team together and not only think of the Caribbean Cup, which is really important to us, but of course about the preparation for the next World Cup phase,” he added.
Montesso didn’t divulge the names of the local players likely to be called to camp, said final checks with the clubs will be made before Friday to see the physical conditions of the local players before releasing their names.
“Actually, we have a couple players from the local league and we are checking with their clubs to see if they are fit to invite them. It will be a 15-day camp. We start on November 25 and go straight to December 6 when we leave and play on the 8th,” revealed Montesso.
Group B of the 10-day tournament, to be hosted by Antigua and Barbuda (A&B), will also be contested by Haiti, Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).
By virtue of being defending champions, the Boyz got a bye in the qualifying rounds, as have A&B as hosts.
T&T are the most successful country with eight titles, with Jamaica second with five for a combined 13 of the 15 championships to date. Martinique and Haiti have each won the tournament once.
Jamaica won the last two editions and three of the last four, with victories in 1991, 1998, 2005, 2008 and 2010.
Soure-JA.Observer
