Jamaica's Raheem Sterling Will Contribute His Talents To England's World Cup Team

After a disappointing campaign in the 2010 World Cup, England is ready to get back on track for this year when they head to Rio, and among the talented and well-known names on their roster appears another young up and coming star, Raheem Sterling. Sterling has certainly deserved the talking points he's gotten, and while he may not be Usain Bolt in the flesh, he certainly brings tremendous speed out there on the field. Sterling has played for England's U-16, U-19, and U-21 team in addition to playing for Liverpool's football club in the EPL, and now he'll get his big shot for the senior World Cup team.

Only 2nd Ever Jamaican On England's World Cup Team

Sterling is one of only 2 Jamaicans ever to be playing on England's World Cup team, the only other being 1986 star John Barnes. Barnes also played for Liverpool while impressing with his performances in the World Cup, and for Sterling, he hopes to follow up a highly successful season with the club in Rio. Sterling has had 9 goals scored along with 5 assists this last season for Liverpool.

 

 

England's 2nd 19-Year Old World Cup Player

At 19 years of age, Sterling has drawn comparisons to another former young star of World Cups past, the unforgettable Michael Owen. Owen was also 19 when he burst onto the World Cup scene in France, and went on to have an impact performance when he scored what's been ruled as one of England's greatest goals of all time. But for Sterling, whenever the topic of Michael Owen has been brought up, he merely shrugs it off and states that he is not looking to do what Owen did, he is merely going to do what it takes to help his team. Sterling has given full credit to his teammates who have helped him to get to where he is today, and hopes to build off of that.

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/