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JFF aiming to transition champion youth squads
August 12, 2025
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts is pleased with the transition of the national team that won the Concacaf Under-15 League B Championship.
The young Reggae Boyz sealed the title with a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico in the final in Aruba on Saturday.
Ricketts pointed out that 13 players from the Under-14 squad which won the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) tournament last year, made the transition to the U15s this year.
Now he is hoping that the majority of these players will also make the transition to the Under-17 team, declaring the JFF's intention to groom this group for FIFA Youth World Cup qualification.
"Last year in the Under 14s they were convincing in victory, like they were this year. They were down 1-0 in the first half (U14 final) and came back in the second half and scored seven goals," recalled Ricketts.
"This year they scored 15 goals and conceded two, which is a very good record. And winning the tournament was no ordinary feat," he said.
"So a number of the U14s have made the transition to the U15, which is a good sign," he said.
However, he noted that transitioning successfully is not a given, saying: "But it doesn't always work that way because some do get lost along the way. But to have 13 of them come over to the U15 squad augurs well for the programme, and we are expecting that a number of these players will make the transition to the U17s.
"The U17 World Cup is every year. So if we can have this kind of turnover, this kind of transition then certainly we will do very well, as the truth is the World Cup is the big picture. We must try and get these young players to the World Cup."
He noted that the national team has been unearthing good talent and that they want to ensure that these young players continue to get exposure and development so the country can consistently compete for a place in the now annual U17 Youth World Cup.
"We have some very good, exciting players and we must make sure that at this level we expose those players as best as possible," he said.
"We have TDS (talent development scheme) programme that have worked wonders. Jamaica was one of the countries selected by FIFA to be a part of this TDS programme and it had a great impact on the U14s last year and on the U15s this year," he pointed out.
Coach of the Under-15 team, Andrew Peart, who also coached the U14s to victory last year, received high praises from Ricketts.
Ricketts admitted that over the years the change in coaching personnel, as young players move through the ranks, has deprived players of consistency in their coaching development, and said they will consider Peart making the transition to the U17s with this crop of players.
"Peart is on a path to becoming an excellent coach. I want to use this opportunity to congratulate Andrew Peart and the rest of his coaching staff. I think the youngsters are in very good hands," he stated..
"We want to make sure that whatever we do is in the best interest of our national units and players. So certainly if that (Peart transitioning to U17s) is a consensus amongst directors, then certainly we will consider it because we want to positively impact our programmes."
