JAMAICA’S Under-17 Reggae Boyz will continue preparations for their World Cup Qualifiers, set for early next year, with a friendly against the American Academy Griffin Under-17s at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, New York, on Saturday.

Head Coach Altimont “Freddy” Butler told the Jamaica Observer that friendly games are exactly what is needed at this time.

“Preparations going well. I believe the players are responding, and we have improved with our speed of play and awareness. I am pretty satisfied with the pace we have so far so I am very happy with the preparation and the way the players are responding to the training,” said Butler.

Recently, Jamaica played Trinidad and Tobago twice in April, winning 2-1 before losing the second game 0-1 as they prepared for the Concacaf U-17 Championship in early 2025, which will be used as a qualifier to the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar.

Earlier this year FIFA expanded the Under-17 World Cup from 24 to 48 teams. This also meant Concacaf saw an increase in slot allocation from four to eight, and Butler is confident the young Reggae Boyz will be one of the eight teams from the region.

“I believe with proper support and preparation we have a great chance and opportunity to qualify for the World Cup. It’s just for us to prepare and have the boys try their best, and at the end we should be able to qualify,” said Butler.

Jamaican teams have featured at two editions of the Under-17 World Cup. The first appearance was in 1999 in New Zealand and the second was in 2011 in Mexico.

Saturday’s game against their American Academy players is another important step towards qualification.

Said Butler: “On Saturday I am expecting the boys to try and execute most of what we have done in practice so far. These games are very important; as you know, most times our younger players are lacking in international exposure so the fact we have a game outside of Jamaica, that would help with our development also.”

The make-up of the young Reggae Boyz team will comprise both local and overseas-based players as Butler continues to seek that perfect blend.

“So far, I have looked at over 100 players in this age group, both in North America and Jamaica. [For] this trip we are taking 26 players so we [will be] going 50/50 — 13 local and 13 overseas — to have that balance, and then I will gauge the talent from there and see how best to shape the team with that number for now,” he explained.

“The overseas-based players have been coming down for camps also. We start blending the players already, and that’s the reason we go with a 50/50 and then have the boys start fighting for places. We have a few more local players looking at to bring in those players,” he added.