The Caribbean community in South Florida will get a taste of the upcoming World Cup in the United States, with the staging of two pre-World Cup kickoff games.

The games will take place on June 6 and 7, and Jamaican entertainers Wayne Wonder, Spragga Benz, Jahshii and Laa Lee are scheduled to entertain patrons at the end of each presentation.

Jamaican-born Richard Campbell, vice mayor of Lauderhill, told Observer Online on Monday that the pre-games will stir interest among the Caribbean community, including patrons, businesses and football fans.

“We are blessed and fortunate that seven of the World Cup games will be played in Miami. We are making maximum preparation for these games, and we intend that our young players are inspired by this occasion. We have been planning for the past 12 months to ensure that the community have this historic moment and experience with the world cup. We have these two events to actually kick off this World Cup and we have invited local teams to participate in these events,’ said Campbell.

He added, “We have invited the Jamaica U-20 team to participate in these games. On June 6, here in the city of Lauderhill in our sports complex, they will be playing Haiti U-20 in the feature game. On Sunday June 7, they will be playing Miami United FC at the feature game at Broward County sports complex, commonly known as the Cricket stadium.”

“In addition to those feature games, we will be having youth clinic for over 600 youngsters and maximising whatever exposure we can, to have this World Cup experience for our youngsters, for our communities, spectators and business folks,” Campbell stated.

On June 6, the action kicks off at 6:00 pm with the Masters League (finals and presentation), while the Super League (finals and presentation) takes place at 7:30 pm. The feature game at 9:15 pm will see the Jamaica National U-20 team going up against Haiti U-20 team.

Dancehall artistes Jahshii and Laa Lee will excite patrons with their catalogue of hits, after the games have ended.

The following day, the action moves over to the Broward County Spots complex (Cricket Stadium) in Lauderhill. The action gets going at 5:00 pm with the Jamaica Masters vs Haiti Masters, while at 6:30 pm, Casa All Stars will battle Haiti All Stars.

The featured game at 8:00 pm will see the Jamaica U-20 team vs Miami United FC.

Veteran artistes Wayne Wonder and Spragga Benz will comprise the live entertainment at 10:00 pm.