JAMAICA’S football boss, Captain Horace Burrell, says the friendly international between the Reggae Boyz and Kenya slated for August 25, will provide useful practice for his team as it looks to its next round of World Cup qualifying matches.

The JFF president, who is in Britain as part of the FIFA committee executing the football tournaments of the ongoing 2012 London Olympic Games, said local-based players will have “a great platform” to strut their stuff, plus the coaching staff will have another opportunity of assessing emerging talent.

“Every international game is important as it keeps the wheels of the technical programme turning. This match in particular will give our local players a chance to showcase their skills, plus the coaching staff will have an opportunity to look at them in an overseas environment,” said Burrell.

The match, which will be played outside of the FIFA calendar for international engagements, follows closely on the heels of the FIFA date of August 15, where the Boyz — ranked 63rd by FIFA — will tackle EL Salvador at the RKF Stadium in Washington.

For the El Salvador showdown, many of Jamaica’s top foreign-based professionals who form the core of the World Cup squad should be available.

The encounter against 125th-ranked Kenya, which has received the full blessings of US Soccer and CONCACAF, will be played at the Rentschler field in Hartford, Connecticut.

Kick-off is set for 7:00 pm (6:00 pm Jamaica time).

Only three weeks ago, the JFF was forced to squash talks that it was near finalising negotiations for a match against another African country Liberia for July 28. The JFF said then that the rumour of the match-up was the work of a mischievous promoter.

The Boyz will be using both August games to prepare for their back-to-back CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches against the mighty USA on September 7 in Kingston and four days later in Ohio.

Jamaica and the USA are tied on four points apiece to top their group, with Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda trailing on one point each.