Despite being without approximately 50 per cent of their squad, Caribbean Cup champions Mount Pleasant FA will make their debut in the Concacaf Champions Cup round-of-16 when they take on MLS giants Los Angeles Galaxy in their first-leg game at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, USA. The match is set to start at 8:30 pm, Jamaica time.

Founded in 2015, just under 10 years ago, Mount Pleasant, who will host the return round next Thursday at the National Stadium, are chasing a lot of firsts but as a result of not been able to get entry visas for close to 10 players, the 2022-23 Jamaica Premier League champions travelled to the American west coast on Sunday with a squad of 18, the minimum number allowed under the rules of the competition.

Included in the 18 are five players who were part of Jamaica’s boys’ Under-20 team that topped their group in the Concacaf Under-20 championships first round qualifying last week in Curacao.

A frustrated Paul Christie, the St Ann club’s sporting director, told the Jamaica Observer last week they were only asking for a level playing field, saying they had not been allowed the “fair play” as they “had not been given the opportunity to field our best starting 11”, despite appealing for help as far as to Concacaf, the continental governing body for the sport.

“We don’t want to just show up for the game, we want to be able to compete but we are not being given the opportunity to be at our best,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Mount Pleasant FA will be the first Jamaican club team to play its historic tournament debut in the round-of-16, and the fourth from Jamaica to compete in this round.

Arnett Gardens in 2002-03, Portmore United in 2020 and Cavalier SC last year all failed to make progress and Head Coach Theodore Whitmore will have his hands full this evening if he is to avoid coming back home with a large deficit.

He will have a number of senior players at his disposal but a thin bench, added to a less than sparkling record in the JPL coming off back-to-back draws against Portmore United and Tivoli Gardens will keep him up ahead of the contest.

They have played their best football of the season in the regional tournaments, however, despite a close final win over Dominican Republic team Universidad O&M FC.

Warner Brown, who scored in the second leg final at the National Stadium, is in the squad but has not played for a number of weeks due to injuries, and Raheem Edwards, their most prolific scorer so far this season, should lead the attacking line.

Goalkeeper Tafari Chambers, central defender and team Captain Kyle Ming are also in Los Angeles along with Kimoni Bailey, Alex Marshall, Daniel Green, Shaquille Bradford and Devonte Campbell, who recently returned from a loan deal in Belgium.

Los Angeles Galaxy qualified for the second round only on away goals following a 1-1 aggregate score against Sporting San Miguelito. Goalscorer in that game, Ghana’s Joseph Paintsil, 36-year-old German standout Marco Reus, Novak Micovic and Norwegian Jakob Glesnes are the key players for the Galaxy.

This is the fifth two-legged series between Jamaican clubs and MLS teams.

DC United and Harbour View met in the quarter-finals in 2004-2005 and again at the same stage in 2007-2008, FC Cincinnati and Cavalier squared off in 2024 before the Jamaicans’ big clash against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami last year.

Devonte Campbell

Mount Pleasant Football Academy’s Daniel Green (left) and Jahshaun Anglin (centre) runs off to celebrate with goalscorer Kimoni Bailey during the first leg of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup final against host O&M FC at Cibao FC Stadium in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. (Photo: Concacaf)

CHRISTIE…We don’t want to just show up for the game, we want to be able to compete but we are not been given the opportunity to be at our best.

LA Galaxy star Marco Reus is expected to feature against Mount Pleasant in the Concacaf Champions Cup in Carson, California, tonight. (Photo: AFP)