Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts says he and Technical Committee Chairman Rudolph Speid will meet with Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren about the team’s Concacaf Gold Cup performance.

The meeting takes place at 10:00 am today and will address what Ricketts described as major concerns held by him and Speid regarding Jamaica’s exit from the Gold Cup at the group stage.

Ricketts has labelled the affair a ‘debacle’.

“When Speid and I spoke earlier, we were basically on the same page,” Ricketts told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday morning. “We will just need to share some more thoughts in detail as to how we’ll address the situation. It was indeed a debacle, and I did, indeed, apologise to our footballing fans. We are very, very disappointed at the results. We must now refocus for the World Cup, which is really the bigger picture.”

Ricketts says a public announcement will be made about decisions taken in the meeting shortly after.

“I hope we’ll appease some disgruntled football fans,” he said.

Ricketts would not specifically say what the issues are or how they will be addressed, but it is believed that the focus will be on the technical staff for the team. However, this does not necessarily mean any dismissals will be made, especially as World Cup qualifiers start in September, leaving little time to find new personnel to take charge of the team. That would also mean little time for any new appointment to settle and bed in their systems.

The Reggae Boyz, coached by Steve McClaren, finished third in Group C, after losing 1-0 to Guatemala on Monday last week, then 4-1 to Panama on Tuesday. Their only win on the campaign was against Guadeloupe 2-1 on Friday. The third-place Group C finish means they exited the competition at the group stage for the first time since 2009, although they missed the tournament altogether in 2013.

McClaren has been contracted to qualify the Reggae Boyz for the FIFA World Cup, being held jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico in a year. It would be Jamaica’s second-ever appearance, having become the first English-speaking Caribbean nation to qualify in 1997 for the 1998 edition.

Jamaica has been drawn in Group B of the final round of qualifying with Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, and Bermuda.

With Concacaf’s new qualifying format, the winner of the group after games against each team home and away in the September, October, and November FIFA match windows, receives an automatic qualifying spot for the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next year.

The two best second-placed teams from the three groups will advance to a FIFA Intercontinental Play-Off, to be played in March 2026.

Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren