President Michael Ricketts says the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is in a wait-and-see mode as violent unrest rocks sections of Mexico, the host country for FIFA Inter-continental play-off matches in March.

Violence broke out in over a dozen Mexican states after Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, popularly known as El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel, was killed during a security operation on Sunday.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz are among six teams that have a final opportunity to qualify for this summer’s FIFA World Cup to be staged in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The teams will be involved in a qualifying mini-tournament from March 23-31, with football matches scheduled for Estadio Akron in Guadalajara and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey.

The Jamaicans are set to meet Oceania’s New Caledonia in Guadalajara on March 26 in the semi-final play-off, with the winner progressing to face Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo for a World Cup spot.

Guadalajara is the most populous city in Mexico’s western state of Jalisco.

“The word is that we must stay prepared and they [organisers] are optimistic that it will work out in a positive way,” the JFF boss told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday.

Ricketts said there has been communication involving football authorities in Mexico and Concacaf, the regional governing body.

“We have had informal discussions with Concacaf and they are basically playing the wait-and-see game. As it is now there is some semblance of normality [in Mexico] but you just never know — there is always going to be [some] level of uncertainty.

“We just have to wait, but we certainly will be making plans…we are waiting to hear from Concacaf directly, with instructions from FIFA,” he noted.

“It’s for the parent organisation to make the decision…but all this will be dependent on what happens in Guadalajara. But things can change overnight, so we are preparing for whatever eventuality,” Ricketts added.

He said the JFF is to host a meeting involving its executive and members of the Reggae Boyz technical staff next week.

“We’ll meet next Wednesday to strategically plan to see how we are going to deal with this. We will apprise ourselves as best as possible, just to be in the know as to exactly what the situation is.

“We want to be very guarded because the safety and security of our players and staff are very critical, and we are intent on ensuring we do the right thing going forward,” he said.

Another Mexican city, Monterrey, is to host the other semi-final play-off between Bolivia and Suriname. The winner will meet Iraq for a place in the global showpiece.

Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey are to stage a combined 13 World Cup matches this summer.

On Tuesday, while attending an event in Colombia, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he was “convinced that everything will go as smoothly as possible” for the staging of World Cup matches.

Since Sunday, members of the CJNG, which is said to be one of the most powerful and feared criminal organisations in Mexico, have set fire to businesses and erected burning blockades in retaliation for the killing of “El Mencho”.

Convoys of military personnel and police officers have been deployed around Guadalajara and other locations. People have been asked to stay inside, with most businesses and schools closed.

— Sanjay Myers