‘Whisper’ Richards called up for Grenada, Haiti Concacaf matches
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Dujuan “Whisper” Richards has been called up to the Reggae Boyz 23-man squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nation League matches against Grenada and Haiti.
The Jamaica Football Federation made the announcement on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old forward has made every national senior team squad since March of this year, including September’s Nations League matches at the National Stadium, where he started in the win against Honduras and came off the bench in the draw with Haiti.
However, head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson cited that his inactivity at club level played a major part in his initial exclusion. Richards is due to join English Premier League team Chelsea later this month after his 18th birthday.
“We have to be consistent in what we say,” Hallgrimsson said. “He hasn’t played a game for such a long time. From my point of view, I’d have liked to select him for this camp because he has done good in recent games for us when he has been given a chance, but we have to be consistent in what we say and what we do.
READ: No ‘Whisper’ for upcoming Jamaica fixtures
Meanwhile, Javain Brown is out due to injury; Adrian Mariappa is out due to personal reasons while Renaldo Cephas is out due to flight challenges.
Jamaica will play both games away from home, meeting Grenada on October 11 at 6 pm Jamaica time, then Haiti in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on October 15 at 7:00 pm Jamaica time.
