Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Boyz have done what was asked of them, emphatically, professionally, and without excuse.
They have qualified for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar this November, unbeaten in three matches, topping Group G with nine points, and restoring Jamaica’s presence on the men’s global football stage after far too long in the wilderness.
They defeated Aruba 3-0. They dismantled the Cayman Islands 12-0. Then, when it mattered most, they stared down Canada and delivered a composed, clinical 3-1 victory to seal qualification.
Mission accomplished.
Now the uncomfortable question: Will Jamaica do its part?
Because qualification alone is not the prize. Participation without preparation is humiliation waiting to happen. If this country sends these boys to Qatar underfunded, underprepared, and unsupported, then we would have squandered not only a sporting opportunity but a national one.
No praise too high
Maximum respect must be paid to head coach Mr. Wendell Downswell, the Westmoreland son who has now qualified his third Jamaican youth team for a FIFA World Cup. This is not luck. This is mastery.
He led the Under-20s to Argentina in 2001. He guided the Under-17s to Mexico in 2011. And now, again, the former attacking wide player has delivered when the nation needed it most.
His assistants, Mr. Vassel Reynolds, along with former Reggae Boy Mr. Altimont Butler, as well as Mr. Carlton Simmonds and goalkeeper coach Mr. Everdan Scarlett deserve equal commendation. So too does the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), whose youth development efforts have begun to bear fruit.
But praise alone does not pay for training camps, international friendlies, sports science support, or proper logistics.
Action must follow applause.
A captain for the moment
Every generation needs a standard-bearer, and this one has found its leader in captain Jahmarie Nolan, named Best Player of the Concacaf Under-17 Championship.
Six direct goal contributions in three matches. Goals. Assists. Leadership. Composure under pressure. He did not merely participate, he dictated.
This is what elite youth talent looks like. This is what Jamaica must nurture, not neglect.
Yes, the door was wider, but they still had to walk through it
It is true that qualification pathways have expanded. Eight Concacaf teams advanced this cycle. Neighboring Caribbean nations such as Cuba and Haiti are also heading to Qatar, while Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago narrowly missed out.
But easier does not mean automatic.
These young Jamaicans still had to perform, and they did. They did not stumble. They did not freeze. They did not falter the way our senior men did when handed perhaps the easiest qualification route in their history.
There is no excuse for Jamaica missing world tournaments in an expanded era. None.
Let this be the turning point where qualification becomes a new normal, not a rare exception.
More than football
This victory resonates far beyond the pitch. For communities in western Jamaica still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, this achievement offers something rare and precious, hope.
Sport cannot rebuild homes, but it can rebuild spirits. These boys have given the country a moment of unity and pride when it was desperately needed.
We owe them more than applause. We owe them commitment.
The real work starts now
Unlike senior World Cups, qualification for this tournament does not deliver a financial windfall. That reality makes preparation even more urgent.
JFF President Mr. Michael Ricketts and General Secretary Mr. Gregory Daley must now move decisively to secure corporate partnerships, government support, and diaspora backing.
Corporate Jamaica, this is your moment too. Invest in these players not as charity, but as national assets.
Send them properly, or risk sending them to struggle.
Let this be the new standard
This is Jamaica’s third Under-17 World Cup qualification, joining the trailblazers of 1999 and 2011. It cannot be another isolated achievement separated by decades.
It must become the baseline.
These young Reggae Boyz have shown discipline, courage, and professionalism. They have honored the badge. They have lifted the nation.
Now the nation must lift them.
Because history will not remember that the path was easier.
History will remember what Jamaica did with the opportunity.
And so will the world.
