SERRA NEGRA, Brazil — The National Under-17 footballers have settled nicely at their new home — the Pousada Clube — after some early hiccups at a facility, which is a far cry from the Traffic Football Academy they previously were.

The journey from the academy, located in Porto Feliz, took approximately three-and-a-half hours by bus to Pousada Clube in Serra Negra, and they were still in Sao Paulo.

But it was no surprise as Sao Paulo is one of the biggest states in Brazil with a population of approximately 40 million people.

Serra Negra is a tiny, clean town of 30,000 people is a miniscule spot on the Brazilian map. The young Reggae Boyz are staying at a rural resort, but without perhaps the most sought after invention of modern times — the Internet.

But with the intervention of the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) general secretary Horace Reid, that problem was being remedied with the purchase of a wireless router from Vivo — a telecommunication network.

But up to the time when this article was written, no internet access was available at the facility, three days after arriving there.

With doubtful tap water, drinking bottled water was bought by the management staff, but the sleeping conditions remained a tad below the norm. Yet it is nothing to lose sleep over. So far, the food is good.

But for Reid, it is important that the players see both sides of the coin as it provides the opportunity for mental preparation.

Said Reid: “We’re trying to put in all the logistics for the camp, which is much different than the first… which was pretty much an all-inclusive camp with a first-class training facility.”

He added: “The second camp is a much different environment with most of the amenities outside. The fields and gym are outside and we’re just trying to fine-tune everything and the fact that there will be a much greater need for transportation to move the team.

“This is a good opportunity for the players, and this second camp will see an emphasis on academics, with the arrival of two tutors,” Reid revealed.

On Monday evening, the team was met by Walter Gama and his son Luciano, both former coaches in Jamaica during the coaching stints of Rene Simoes.

They are instrumental in arranging practice games and training facilities for the Under-17s, and already, the Rio Claro Under-18s are scheduled to take on the Jamaicans today at 3:00 pm (noon, Jamaica time).

Rio Claro are well into their preseason preparations as their tournament begins on January 16, and it should be a testing match for the Young Boyz in what is expected to be a heavy schedule of matches over the next few weeks.

With no training facility on the compound, the first training session on Tuesday morning had to be cancelled because they were taken to a sub-standard indoor concrete surface which looked like it had been abandoned for months.

But head coach Wendell Downswell and his outfit were able to train on Tuesday evening, yesterday morning and evening before today’s game.

The Under-17s played their last game on December 28 and they should be fresh for this encounter.

Ruseas’s High goalkeeper Richard Trench, who arrived yesterday and missed the morning training session, could be thrown right into action today as both goalkeepers Odean Clarke and Nico Campbell are still nursing injuries.

Campbell resumed light training and there is still the possibility of him starting, though he should not be rushed back into competitive action too soon.

With 18 days left for the camp to finish, the Jamaicans should expect the matches to come fast — probably every other day — as they intensify preparations for the 12-team CONCACAF Under-17 Championship to be hosted by Jamaica between February 14-27.