SEVEN members of the 2009 Manning and Dacosta Cup teams are part of a squad named by national coach Theodore Whitmore to the first in a series of camps to prepare a squad for participation in the XXI CAC Games to be held in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, July 17-August 1.

They are Marvin Morgan (St George’s College/Boys’ Town), Oneil Fisher (St George’s College), Christopher Waugh (Wolmer’s Boys), Ashani Walker (Jamaica College), Jason Johnson (Manchester High), Darren Mattocks (Bridgeport High) and leading goal scorer of the 2009 Dacosta Cup season, Deshorn Brown (St Elizabeth Technical High).

The group also includes nine players from the Under-20 team for the FIFA U-20 World Cup at the CONCACAF Championships in Trinidad and Tobago in March 2009. They are Gariece McPherson (Portmore United), Andre Blake (Glenmuir High/Sporting Central Academy), Andrae Campbell (Portmore United), Andre Darby (Portmore United), Romeo Parkes (St Georges Sports Club), Andre Steele (Harbour View FC), Romario Campbell (Harbour View), Damaine Thompson (Bamboo FC) and Davion Thorpe (Reno FC).

Two members of the squad have played for Jamaica’s national senior team, namely Romario Campbell, who played against South Africa on April 28 and Jason Johnson, who played against Argentina, February 10, 2010.

Andrae Campbell and Damaine Thompson were part of the team that won a silver medal at the Pan Am games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2007.

The last time Jamaica participated in the CAC games was in 2006, when the country was knocked out at the quarter-final stage after beating Haiti in the preliminaries.

The technical staff sees this squad as the embryo for not only the CAC games but also for the 2012 Olympic qualifiers. Whitmore says, “Jamaica stand a good chance of doing well so it’s important to get our preparation started early.”

The squad begins training tomorrow and will break on Thursday.

Full squad: Gariece McPherson (Portmore United), Andre Blake (Sporting Central), Dennis Taylor (Reno), Andrae Campbell (Portmore United), Fabion McCarthy (Seba), Jerome Eccleston (Village United), John Barrett (St James High), Jhamie Hyde (Harbour View), Theo Brown (Waterhouse), Andre Darby( Portmore United), Romeo Parkes (St Georges), Romario Campbell (Harbour View), Ashani Walker (Waterhouse/Jamaica College), Davian Thorpe (Reno), Marvin Morgan (Boys Town/St George’s), Oneil Fisher (St George’s), Christopher Waugh (Wolmer’s), Darren Mattocks (Waterhouse, Bridgeport High), Jason Johnson (Manchester High), Dino Williams (Village United), Dane Kelly (Tivoli Gardens), Deshorn Brown (St Elizabeth Technical), Andrew Vazie (Portmore), Damaine Thompson (Bamboo FC) and Andre Steele (Harbour View).