Dr Heimir Hallgrimsson from Iceland is expected to be unveiled as the new head coach of Jamaica’s Senior Men’s National Football Team during a planned Press Conference to be hosted by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Friday.
Hallgrimsson replaces former Reggae Boyz star player Theodore Whitmore, who was sacked last December, with his then assistant and also former Reggae Boyz star Paul Hall being employed as interim head coach through to this past summer.
The 55-year-old Hallgrimsson is expected to take charge of Jamaica’s friendly international against global powerhouse Argentina at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, on September 27. Football legend Leo Messi has been named in the strong Argentina team.
The Icelander, a former player, is best known for guiding his country to a first-ever FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia in 2018, and as co-coaches with Lars Largerback when Iceland, with a population of just over 366,000 , advanced to the quarter-finals at the 2016 Euro 2016 in France.
He last coached at Qatari League club Al Arabi from 2018 through to last year.
Dr Hallgrimsson, who is already on the island, will come to the Reggae Boyz set up with a support staff of assistant coach and goalkeeper coach. They are expected to travel to Jamaica at another time.
Details of his contract and mandate are expected to be made public at the Press Conference on Friday.
Meanwhile, the new head coach has asked that six players be named as alternates for the 23-man squad selected to oppose Argentina, though he was not involved in selected the players. That task was apparently undertaken by former Reggae Boyz head coach Wendell Downswell and Merron Gordon, who took charge of Jamaica’s last set of friendlies in Austria recently.
The squad includes goalkeepers Dillon Barnes (Queen’s Park Rover), Jahmali Waite (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), and Kemar Foster (Waterhouse); defenders Adrian Mariappa (Macarthur FC), Richard King (Cavalier), Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jamoi Topey (Mount Pleasant), Joel Latibeaudiere (Swansea City), Gregory Leigh (Ipswich Town), Amari’i Bell (Luton Town), Damion Lowe (Inter Miami); midfielders Daniel Johnson (Preston North End), Bobby Reid (Fulham), Ravel Morrison (DC United), Kevon Lambert (Phoenix Rising), Kevin Stewart (Blackpool), Jonathan Russell (Huddersfield Town); forwards Jamal Lowe (Bournemouth), Kaheem Parris (Dynamo Kyiv), Andre Gray (Aris), Shamar Nicholson (Spartax Moscow), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa), Michail Antonio (West Ham United.
The six reserve include Maliek Howell (University of Memphis), Ricardo Thomas (Dunbeholden), Demario Phillips (Mount Pleasant), Jourdain Fletcher (Unattached, Corey Burke (Philadelphia Union), Coniah Boyce (goalkeeper, Reading FC).
A notable absentee from the squad is Reggae Boyz captain Andre Blake, who recently criticised the Michael Ricketts-led administration on social media when news broke that the appointment of the new coach was imminent.
Blake had told the Jamaica Observer newspaper that he didn’t know why he was not selected because he’s not injured.
But Cedella Marley, ambassador of the Jamaica women’s programme, was left convinced that his omission was due to his public criticism of the local governing body.
“How can the captain of our mens national team not be called up for this historic match against Argentina?” she wrote. “Why do I feel he’s being punished for standing up to the Jamaica Football Federation? The whole world is watching @jff_football,” Marley posted on Instagram.
She added: “You can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time and now we see the light STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS,” words from one of famous father’s songs.
Meanwhile, Blake remained defiant in his stance when he spoke with the Jamaica Gleaner. “We have so much talent which is going to waste because of lack of leadership and direction. Coaches and players have been changed, but the results remain the same and there is a common denominator. So what does that say?”
He added: “You cannot run a joke program and expect players to take it seriously. … If they decide not to select me again, I am fine. They will not use the non-selection to break me.”
Then later Wednesday he issued another post of Instagram. “With strength from the lord I will continue to fight for what I believe in. Even if I have to fight alone I will. Together we are stronger…. Step up or get up…. I said what I mean and I mean what I said.”
