Homefield no guarantee of success
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Playing at home is no guarantee for success for Jamaica in the upcoming Caribbean Football Union Caribbean Cup tournament that will be held in Montego Bay, November 10-17, says Winfried Schaefer, head coach of the Reggae Boyz.
Jamaica will be one of eight nations that will be seeking a place in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the top four gaining qualification, and the winner earning a place in the 2016 Copa Centennial in the USA, involving teams from the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL (South American) regions.
Double headers will be played on game days, with games scheduled for 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm kick-offs at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall.
At a press conference held at the St James Parish Council on Wednesday, Schaefer said playing at home will heighten expectations, and he was optimistic Jamaica could win.
“I know all the Caribbean teams want to beat us,” he said, “but we need to stay strong mentally and players need to give everything; we have a good chance to win, but have to work hard and concentrate.”
For the first time the CFU Caribbean Cup will be played during the FIFA international break and, after failing to qualify for the last CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Captain Horace Burrell said he was hoping coach Schaefer will be able to get all the players he wants.
Schaefer said he would be using as strong a steam as he can muster. “We need all our players, those overseas and local based, and they must all be fit and in good form.”
The German Schaefer also said he was hoping the players would leave their clubs as soon as possible after their last games before the start of the competition so that the team can maximise practice sessions.
The press conference followed a planning meeting of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for both the CFU tournament that will be held in November and a CONCACAF Under-20 men’s tournament that will be held between Kingston and Montego Bay between January 9-24, next year.
Twelve teams, five from CFU, four from Central America, and three from North America will be seeking to qualify for the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015.
