National youth coach Wendell Downswell has decided to step aside as head of Jamaica’s Under-20 football team to concentrate his efforts fully on the Under-17s.

Downswell, a respected youth coach, said his decision was timely and logical as the “promising” Under-17 Reggae Boyz launch their bid next week on home soil for a place in the age-group World Cup to be staged in Mexico later this year.

“I would be stretched working with both units, but I will continue to give my technical expertise and I will continue to work with Andrew (Edwards), who I hold in the highest esteem as a youth coach,” Downswell said on Saturday.

“If these youngsters qualify, it means that I will have to be away from them for another five weeks or so going to Brazil and Guatemala with the Under-20s, I think that will be too long a time from them,” he added.

Edwards, who coached St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) to football success in 2009 and who has acted in Downswell’s absence, could lead the Under-20s for the Brazil camp in March and their CONCACAF qualifiers in Guatemala in April. This, however, is subject to review and recommendation of the Technical Committee.

Downswell noted that his decision was also driven by the fact that should the team qualify from the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, which kicks off on Jamaica’s north coast next Monday, he wanted to be available to work closely with the team in the critical months leading into the World Cup in June.

“And with the plans that the federation have in the pipeline in giving them (Under-17s) the necessary exposure, somewhere in Europe perhaps, means that I have to be there every step of the way,” he told the Observer.

And the former senior Boyz coach is brimming with confidence that the present bunch of players have what it takes to be Jamaica’s next team into a FIFA World Cup tournament.

“I am pretty confident that this bunch of players will qualify for the World Cup based on what I have seen in Brazil… and I think these youngsters can play a crucial role in revolutionising Jamaica’s football,” said the former Jamaica winger.

Six rigorous weeks in Brazil, Downswell claimed, have impacted in a positive way on the overall preparation of the Under-17s, who are seeking to repeat the success of the 1999 New Zealand World Cup team.

“In such an environment the exposure and hands-on experience gained cannot (be overstated)… we are better in terms of team organisation and shape which are crucial components,” he stated.

Chairman of the JFF Technical Committee, Howard McIntosh, said the coach’s decision made perfect sense at this time.

“He had indicated his position that he wanted to concentrate on the Under-17s and we think that was in the best interest of the programme… and we want him to give a high level of focus on the Under-17s,” he said.

Downswell, who was instrumental in Jamaica’s Under-20 team qualifying for the Argentina World Cup in Argentina in 2001, is highly thought of by the McIntosh-led committee, hence his appointment to head both age-group outfits.

“He is very optimistic and we are very understanding of his position to focus on what he thinks is one of the most promising units assembled in a long time. The JFF holds him in very high regard and that’s part of the reason he was given the responsibility for the youth teams, all of which are critical to the JFF’s plans in the short and medium term.

“I think Wendell has proven over time his value certainly as a mentor, coach and teacher and he has done extremely well and we are proud of what he has done with this unit so far and we hope it continues,” said McIntosh, a long-time ally of JFF boss Captain Horace Burrell.

In continuation of their preparation for the CONCACAF play-offs, which will see four teams automatically qualifying for next summer’s Youth World Cup, the Young Boyz were due to take on Costa Rica in a warm-up game on Thursday.

At press time yesterday, they were engaged in another friendly against neighbours Haiti at Ferdie Neita Park in St Catherine.

Just days after returning from their intense training camp in Brazil last month, Downswell’s Boyz took on the USA in a two-match friendly series and were competitive in a 0-0 draw and 1-2 defeat to their powerful North American rivals.

Jamaica will engage the Caribbean’s Trinidad and Tobago and Central American outfit Guatemala in Group C of the CONCACAF tournament to be staged jointly by the Montego Bay Sports Complex and the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.

Jamaica will be hoping that lightning strike in the same place twice as the last time an Under-17 team made it to a World Cup, the qualifying tournament was played on Jamaica’s north coast.