Wednesday 29 January 2014

The History of Jamaican Soccer Federation


The available records indicate that soccer was introduced in Jamaica in the late 19th Century. At this time Jamaica formed its first team.
The Jamaica soccer federation was founded in 1910. By then it was known as Jamaican Football Association but later in 1965 it changed its name to Jamaican Football Federation (JFF). It is the body that governs football in Jamaica, it also organises the Jamaican National Premier League and both the women’s and the men’s national teams also known as ‘The Reggae Boyz’. The JFF joined Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in the year 1962.

By the year 1962 Jamaica had already gained independence and hap played many regular games its neighbouring countries such as, Cube, Haiti, Tobago and Trinidad and even the Caribbean All Stars team. Jamaica soccer Federation recorded a major success in the year 1998 when the Jamaica’s men’s national team qualified for the 1998 FIFA World cup in France. However, the men’s team did not proceed to the second round of matches but managed to win a match against Japan which was their final group match. The Jamaican men national team have also won the Caribbean cup five times. This success might appear small to some people but for a small country like Jamaica this is a great success for its football federation.

However, Jamaica’s national men team appeared on an international tournament was in the year 1925 playing against their Caribbean neighbours Haiti. The tournament had a series of three matches which Jamaican team won. Haiti nation team became their frequent opponent until 1932 when Haiti won 4-1 against Jamaica.


Jamaican men football team under the management of a Brazilian coach by the name Jorge Penna made its first ever attempt at the world cup qualifying matches in 1965. The Jamaica Football Federation has in the past organized international friendly matches for the National men’s team as well as for the women national team. Despite all this success, in the year 1973 Jamaica’s national team for men was eliminated from the tournament lead to the dismissal of some members of the team. This was one of the major drawbacks of the Jamaican Football Federation

Monday 27 January 2014

Jamaican National Soccer Center

The Jamaican National Soccer Centre is more widely known as the The Jamaica Football Federation Centre of Excellence, and it opened its doors on Monday, September 27, 2010. The Jamaican National Soccer Centre came to fruition through the donations and the support of the FIFA Goal Project - a special project created by the International Football Association (FIFA) to provide funding for soccer-related projects.

The Centre consists of two full-sized soccer (football) fields as well as office buildings and classrooms, which allow for the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to utilize the space to its fullest potential for both administrative purposes as well as athletic purposes.

The Centre has hosted in the past both the national soccer team and also local soccer teams, including the Reggae Boyz and currently youth teams. The Reggae Boyz are the Jamaican National Senior Team and the youth teams are divided by age group (either under the age of 20 or under the age of 17) and by gender (both men's and women's teams). In addition to having soccer teams play there, the Jamaican National Soccer Centre also hosts tryouts and trainings throughout the year.

There is a calendar of events found on the official Jamaica Football Federation's website. This can be found by going here: http://www.jamaicafootballfederation.com/v1/calendar-of-events-3/

Even though soccer has been around in Jamaica since approximately 1893, the Jamaica Football Federation's goal for its Centre of Excellence is to expand the game of soccer throughout Jamaica. In order to accomplish this goal, the Centre is also the main location for its youth and coaching programs. The Jamaica Football Federation provides interested parties with access to a Coaching School Magazine as well as Coaching School Registration forms for both Advanced Level I and Advanced Level II. Both the magazine and the forms are downloadable and can be found at the JFF's official website: http://www.jamaicafootballfederation.com/v1/coaching/

Finally, the Jamaican National Soccer Centre will help facilitate both the Jamaica Football Federation's mission statement and vision. The JFF's mission is to help introduce, develop and cultivate soccer's success and provide athletic entertainment to the people of Jamaica. The JFF's vision is to accomplish this goal by 2022 and to have the Jamaican national team risen to international success.

More information on the Jamaican National Soccer Centre (The Jamaica Football Federation Centre of Excellence) can be found here: http://www.jamaicafootballfederation.com/v1/the-football-centre/

More information on the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) can be found here: http://www.jamaicafootballfederation.com/v1/