MONTEGO BAY, St James — Buoyed by the reported “success” of hosting the recent CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship, Jamaica will be going after bigger fish.

Football boss, Captain Horace Burrell, said in the immediate aftermath that based on Jamaica’s emerging track record of organising “well-run” international tournaments, he will be spearheading the charge for the country to host a FIFA age-group World Cup in the not so distant future — an idea the football visionary has long toyed with.

“I will certainly be putting in a bid to host a junior World Cup, male or female, and I will be challenging all stakeholders in government and private sector to partner with the JFF on this,” Burrell said after the final of the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, on Saturday night.

In outlining the potential benefits of hosting a World Cup at any level to the country, Burrell claimed that revenue inflows, exposure for brand Jamaica and the lasting legacy would catapult football and the country to a new plateau.

“Certainly one of the legacies would be the stadia that would have to be built, or developed where they already exist, and this would certainly aid the development of the overall game here,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“I think we as a Federation and a country have done a good job in gaining the experience in organising successful international tournaments, which I believe has positioned us to bid for bigger events,” said Burrell.

The just-concluded CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship hosted by Montego Bay, Burrell notes, showed once again Jamaica’s potential of putting on first-class shows and again demonstrating their income-generating capacity.

“The figure at this time is showing that some Jamaican $100 million has flowed into the city, and that’s a big boost to the tourism product here (Montego Bay).

“The hotel sector benefited as families of the seven visiting teams booked rooms, tour operators also benefited, eateries, bars, the taxi man and even those peddling small items had a boost in their businesses,” Burrell told reporters.

Only Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean has hosted FIFA World Cups, having brought the Under-17 Women’s and Men’s tournaments to the twin-island republic.

In Montego Bay on Saturday, Mexico won the Under-17 tournament by beating Canada 4-2 on penalties at the Montego Bay Sports Complex. In the match to decide third place, the USA swamped hosts Jamaica 8-0.

Both Mexico and Canada have qualified to the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup to be hosted by Costa Rica next March.