Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Boyz captain Jahmarie Nolan was the recipient of the Best Player award at the just concluded Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship.

Nolan led Jamaica to qualification to the FIFA World Cup by topping Group G with a maximum nine points with wins over Aruba (3-0), Cayman Islands (12-0) and Canada (3-1).

The Toronto FC player was instrumental throughout the campaign, totalling six goal contributions through four goals and two assists.

The attacker recorded multiple goal contributions in each match for Jamaica, tallying a goal and an assist against Aruba, two goals against the Cayman Islands and a goal and an assist against Canada.

Jamaica’s assistant coach, Vassell Reynolds, had high praise for Nolan, citing the experience he gained from last year’s failed attempt to qualify for the 2025 FIFA World Cup.

“Both he and the entire coaching staff were very confident he would lead the team well both on and off the field. We didn’t hesitate to give him that responsibility, one which he accepted and performed very well,” said Reynolds.

“His performance on the pitch wasn’t a surprise to us, we saw glimpses of it last year, and also one can remember he got some useful minutes representing Mount Pleasant Academy in last year’s JPL competition and held his own,” Reynolds noted.

“During the camps leading up to the qualifiers, he was outstanding and that continued throughout the three games and this award is well deserved and provides a good face for Jamaica’s football. It should help to motivate other youth players in the country,” he added.

“He has good close skills on the ball. He is fit, but his advantage, I think, is his ability to make good movements off the ball and he usually has a high percentage in terms of opportunities to score,” said Reynolds.

“He has a good future ahead of him once he remains focused and continues to work hard and be disciplined,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Top Scorer Award went Malik Jakupovic of the United States. Jakupovic finished the tournament with eight goals for the Group E winners to claim the Top Scorer Award.

The forward was in clinical form with goals in each of the USA’s fixtures in the competition. He struck a brace against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, registered a notable five goals against Saint Kitts and Nevis, and closed out the campaign with a goal to help seal the top of the group.