Despite construction work yet to begin at the National Stadium, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts is hopeful FIFA’s inspection will confirm Jamaica’s readiness to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup and result in the country being awarded multiple matches.

A contingent from football’s world governing body arrived in Kingston on Wednesday where they will inspect two of the country’s biggest sporting venues, the National Stadium and Sabina Park, as well as several hotels in the Corporate Area. The Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence at the UWI, Mona Campus will also be looked at, though the Jamaica Observer understands it would be viewed as a training facility.

Operations Manager Omar McFarlane will lead a six-member JFF team assigned to accompany the FIFA delegation during the inspection. The Observer understands Vice-President Elaine Walker-Brown, Marketing Manager Avery Campbell and Press Officer Simon Preston will form part of the team.

The inspections will be compiled into a report that will ultimately confirm whether Jamaica can stage the World Cup alongside the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Ricketts told the Observer that he’s hoping the inspection will be successful, despite preparations being outside the JFF’s control.

“The whole genesis of this bid would have started some time ago when Victor Montegliani and myself would have had some discussions surrounding women’s football and Jamaica’s contribution globally. He really would be instrumental in having us be part of this bidding process so he would have visited Jamaica, we had some discussions, we engaged Minister Grange and she was just as optimistic and as excited as I was,” said Ricketts.

“So there is nothing the JFF can do or could have done. We just are very hopeful that they will be comfortable with what we have to offer and then the report of FIFA who would make a determination when it has its congress at the end of April.”

The National Stadium, which the Observer understands will be inspected this morning, is set to undergo redevelopment work next year, as currently, most of its facilities don’t meet international requirements. Sports Minister Olivia Grange in January said she didn’t want to reveal a completion date, despite announcing a 2029 target last year.

Ricketts believes the FIFA delegation will factor that into its assessment of the venue’s suitability.

“Montagliani would have had similar discussions with Minister Grange and was pretty confident and that was on the basis that we proceeded with the bidding process. So, I just think that the FIFA reps will understand because the stadium will for sure be refurbished so it’s up to them now to make a presentation to FIFA to say that yes, the stadium is okay and we’re expecting it to even be better for 2031,” he said.

In 2019, Concacaf awarded Jamaica two Gold Cup matches, making the island the first Caribbean country to stage the tournament. The double-header saw the Reggae Boyz defeat Honduras 3-2, while El Salvador edged Curaçao 1-0 in group-stage action.

Ricketts, however, is pushing for an increase for the expanded 48-team 2031 World Cup, as he believes the impact would be widespread.

“Obviously, the US would, in terms of numbers, be way ahead of the others. But I am still very excited at the prospects and again, I want to reiterate that it would be great to have our girls playing in front of a Jamaican home crowd,” he said. “I am sure this would provide some inspiration for a number of young boys and especially girls to see our Reggae Girlz playing in the World Cup.”

“And of course, we are automatically in once we are hosts so that’s another thing that would excite us that we will naturally be in, we won’t have to go through the process of qualifying. So there will be a number of positives coming out of this. Commercially, this will benefit our vendors, a number of hotels, the tourism sector will be positively impacted. We are just supremely excited and are just hoping that everything will go well and that FIFA will be in a position to make a formal announcement in April.”

Michael Ricketts, Jamaica Football Federation president (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

From left: Mexico Football Federation President Mikel Arriola, Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts, Costa Rica Football Federation President Osael Marot and the United States Soccer Federation President Cindy Cone at the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup bid launch in New York on October 20, 2025. 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (centre) addresses a round table press briefing at the end of the FIFA Executive Summit at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James on Thursday. Also seated at the head table are JFF president Michael Ricketts (left) and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani.