SAO PAULO, Brazil — Head coach of Jamaica’s National Under-17 football team, Wendell Downswell, said the six-week training stint here was of tremendous help in the overall preparation for the CONCACAF championships to be held on the island’s north coast from February 14-27.

“We are particularly satisfied, and after the six weeks, I do believe that the camp was a resounding success,” said Downswell moments after the players were given a fitness test yesterday morning.

The core of the Jamaican delegation is scheduled to arrive in Jamaica on Monday morning at 11:30 from Sao Paulo via Miami.

The young Reggae Boyz will have a function in their honour tomorrow at the offices of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).

The following day, they will travel to Montego Bay, St James, for a training session before engaging the USA in two friendly games on January 27 and 30 at Jarrett Park.

The last time Jamaica qualified a team for a World Cup was back 2001 for the Argentina Under-20 championship and Downswell is quietly confident his Under-17s will do likewise.

“The future looks bright as we have a very disciplined set of youngsters and we are happy as a staff… we expect some quality football… the expectations are high and our intention is to justify the confidence that the public has in us,” he told the Observer.

The Jamaicans arrived in Brazil on December 15, initially for a three-week camp, but the JFF extended it to six weeks to maximise the training possibilities in the South American nation, home of five-time senior World Cup champions.

“We have played 10 games, won three and drew two… the other games I don’t see as losses because they have been invaluable experience for the players.

“We put them up against some tough teams. If we came to Brazil with the intention of just winning games, it (training camp) wouldn’t serve its purpose,” Downswell noted.

The veteran coach said it didn’t take long for his players to get a feel of the Brazilians as opponents.

“When we reflect on the early games and the youngsters realised the movements of the Brazilians and their pace, we knew with time, we would get just as good as them.

“We were pretty focused, despite the score-line of some of the games, (but) it was part of the whole development aspect because at that time we were mainly concentrating on a lot of functional work,” explained Downswell.

But most rewarding, he said, was the overall growth of the team.

“With regards to the squad, I am impressed with a number of these players, who have grown considerably, both in physique and tactical awareness. The discipline that they have exhibited and the fact that they have been in an environment like this, rubbing shoulders with a number of Corinthian players camped here, so they got a feel of what it is like in a professional arena,” Downswell said.

All in all, the coaching staff believes a solid foundation has been laid and a template designed for the future development of youth teams — male and female.

“Based on what I have seen our youth football is in good stead… we really hope that corporate Jamaica comes on board now,” Downswell said, adding his voice to the JFF’s endless pleas for financial help.

“I must commend the JFF for extending the camp… believe you me, this camp has done tremendously in terms of our forward movement in the programme itself… the support that we got from the government and corporate Jamaica I think was money well spent,” he added.

If there were disappointments on the Brazilian stint, Downswell felt it would be the spate of injuries.

“Maybe the injuries, as it took some time to get back some players… probably next time we need to carry a much larger squad, somewhere between 25 and 28 players so we can rotate them if there are injuries,” noted Downswell.

Jamaica are drawn alongside Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala in Group C of the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship.

The top-four teams qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup along with host Mexico in June.