There were no major surprises as Head Coach Theodore Whitmore announced his 23-man Reggae Boyz roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament in the US.
Goalkeeping Captain Andre Blake of the Philadelphia Union makes a return as do his club mates Alvas Powell and Cory Burke, along with Kemar Lawrence of Toronto FC, Leon Bailey of Bayern Leverkusen, and Shamar Nicholson of Charleroi in Belgium.
Damion Lowe of Egypt’s Al Ittihad Alexandria Club also makes a return, as he had done on the recent tour of Japan.
They are joined by a number of players from Britain including goalkeeper Dillon Barnes of Queens Park Rangers, Adrian Mariappa of Bristol City, Liam Moore of Reading FC, Amari’i Bell of Luton FC, Michael Hector and Bobby Reid of Fulham FC, Daniel Johnson of Preston North End, and the unattached Ravel Morrison, who had returned to Jamaica to acquire a US visa.
Blair Turgott of Ostersunds also makes the cut.
Not surprisingly only one local-based player, goalkeeper Dennis Taylor of Humble Lion, was included in the squad by Whitmore.
Local football only just resumed last weekend after sports on the island was locked down last year due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The squad is completed by Oniel Fisher o LA Galaxy, the Miami FC pair of Lamar Walker and Devon Williams, Junior Flemmings of Birmingham Legion, Tyreek MaGee of Eupen, and Javon East of Santos de Guapiles.
The Boyz begin a nine-day training camp in Orlando, Florida today ahead of their opening Group C Gold Cup game against Suriname at Exploria Stadium in the same city on July 12. The Boyz also have in their group Costa Rica and a team yet to be promoted from the Gold Cup preliminary round play-off, which runs from tomorrow through to July 8.
The Jamaica Football Federation also released a 15-man support staff headed by led by head of delegation Gregory Daley, and including head coach Whitmore, assistant coaches Paul Hall and Merron Gordon, goalkeeper coach Warren Barrett, team manager Roy Simpson, team doctor Bersha Cole, physical trainers Lamar Morgan and Jason Henry, masseurs Garone Brown and Rory Rhoden, physiotherapist Kevin Christie, equipment managers Norman Stone and Omar Folkes, and performance video analyst Sanford Carabin.
Full squad: Andre Blake, Dillon Barnes, Dennis Taylor, Damion Lowe, Lamar Walker, Adrian Mariappa, Liam Moore, Oniel Fisher, Alvas Powell, Kemar Lawrence, Amari’I Bell, Michael Hector, Daniel Johnson, Devon Williams, Blair Turgott, Leon Bailey, Junior Flemmings, Bobby Reid, Tyreek MaGee, Cory Burke, Shamar Nicholson, Javon East, Ravel Morrison
