SAO PAULO, Brazil — As Feliz Natal, the Portuguese for Merry Christmas, rang out across Brazil with lots of fireworks, food and gifts, for the young Reggae Boyz, all they wanted for Christmas yesterday was some training for the best gift of all — to play in the World Cup Finals.

“It was more they who wanted to train rather than scheduling for them,” team manager Roy Simpson, revealed to the Observer.

Simpson added: “They’re willing and wanted to train probably to get it off their minds that it is Christmas and used today’s training session to put them at ease.”

The perfect Christmas was probably not happening for Jamaica’s National Under-17 players as they woke up with no gifts presented to them.

But the vision of playing in a FIFA World Cup in Mexico in June is more than a gift; it’s a dream for these players that could change their lives forever.

Captain Omar Holness of Wolmer’s Boys’ School said being here for Christmas is a huge sacrifice, with a bigger picture in mind.

Said Holness: “Being away from family and friends, exhausting yes, I we know that players want to go home, but looking at the bigger picture of the World Cup and with Wualifiers coming up, everybody really want to go and is making that sacrifice. It would be the best gift in the world”.

The young Reggae Boyz had a near three-hour rigid training session and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“There have been here for a week plus and it is Christmas and if they were back home, they would have gone to Grand Market. But for the commitment they have here, we decided to take them to the mall on Sunday (yesterday) just to free up themselves to start the second week of their training stint,” said Simpson.

“They are settling down better. Yes, they miss home, miss their parents, peers and friends, but they understand what they are here about, plus the couple of games we have played and the results, they know they have to double their results,” said Simpson.

With the CONCACAF World Cup Championship to be hosted by Jamaica on February 14-27, and with four teams qualifying for the World Cup, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has no intention of failing to secure one of those berths and has extended the three-week training stint to six weeks.

“I have gotten from my superiors that the camp has been extended for three weeks and we will be here until late January,” confirmed team manager Simpson.

The Traffic Football Academy is located at Porto Feliz (Happy Port) and is in rural Sao Paulo with not much entertainment — an ideal situation for the Young Boys to stay focused.

With nothing much to do, the players spent Christmas Day among themselves, building a bond that could see them being the first Jamaican team since 2001 to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.

They are drawn in Group C alongside Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago, and with two teams advancing to the quarter-finals, these youngsters could present their country with something more than a Christmas gift — it could be a public holiday!