In-form Jevani Brown, a former Young Reggae Boyz attacking midfielder, has been included in the senior Jamaica squad for the first time for a mini tournament to be held in Austria later this month, his English League One club Exeter City confirmed on Thursday.
Exeter City manager Matt Taylor said 27-year-old forward Brown’s call-up for Jamaica showed how far the forward had come. He has scored twice and set up a third goal in Exeter’s opening two League One matches.
Jamaica will take on World Cup qualifiers Ghana, Morocco and Qatar in the Austrian tournament, which will be held in the capital Vienna between August 20-26.
“There’s no bigger accolade than international recognition, and if he goes and plays for Jamaica I’m absolutely delighted for Jevani, his family, his support network and everyone who’s been through his journey so far,” Taylor said.
He added: “Remember where we got Jevani Brown from – out of contract at Colchester. There were not too many suitors who wanted to take him.
“Now he’s possibly one of the most talked about players at League One level.
“He’s scoring goals, he’s started the season well, getting international recognition, getting spoken about by a lot of people in football, so I feel we’ve played a part in that. It’s down to Jevani first and foremost, but we’ve played a big part in that as well.”
Hertfordshire-born Brown is set to miss league games against Cheltenham Town and Accrington Stanley as well as a second-round League Cup match at Gillingham.
He scored seven goals in 49 appearances for City last season, six of them coming in the second half of the campaign as Exeter won promotion from League Two.
“I’m excited that there’s more to come from him,” added Taylor.
“We’ll miss him for a couple of games, but that’s part and parcel of success. You play well on the football pitch and you get recognition and rewards, and international level is the top level of world football and we’ll be wishing Jevani all the best.”
CMC
