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The Reggae Boyz’s failure to qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, was without doubt the highlight and biggest disappointment of 2025.
Drawn in a final-round group with Caribbean teams Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao and Bermuda, the team, under coach Steve McClaren, performed far below expectations and managed to finish second to earn a place in the intercontinental play-offs in Mexico in March.
Earlier, the Reggae Boyz started 2025 by hosting two international friendlies against regional rivals Trinidad and Tobago. The squad was made up mainly of local-based players, who were being given a chance to impress.
Although former Arnett Gardens striker Warner Brown, now at Mount Pleasant Academy, did not score in the two matches, he made a huge impression on McClaren and was drafted to the squad.
In Brown’s first appearance for the Boyz, in their next game in February – a Gold Cup qualifier – against St Vincent and the Grenadines, he came off the bench to earn a late penalty which Leon Bailey scored to salvage a 1-1 draw.
In the return game at Sabina Park, Brown opened the scoring with a scorcher, with Kaheim Dixon and Renaldo Cephas also scoring to secure the Boyz place at the Gold Cup.
It was then on to the first round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying for the Boyz, who were grouped with the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Guatemala.
They defeated the BVI 1-0 on Brown’s first-half strike. And Brown would continue his heroics against Guatemala at the National Stadium, netting a brace in a 3-0 win to push the Boyz into the final round of qualifying.
There were signs that all was not well before the final round of World Cup qualifying in September, which showed up during the Concacaf Gold Cup in June. That tournament was a disaster.
The Boyz started the campaign with a 1-0 loss to Guatemala, a team they easily defeated six days earlier. This was followed by a 2-1 loss to Guadeloupe and a 4-1 hammering from Panama.
It was the first time the Reggae Boyz were failing to make the second round of the Gold Cup in 12 years and following the tournament, there was a national outcry for coach McClaren to be fired.
The Englishman received heavy criticism, especially for his decision to carry Michail Antonio, who had just recovered from a serious car crash and had not played club football in over a year.
However, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) decided against firing the Englishman and appointed Technical Committee Chairman Rudolph Speid as technical adviser to the coach, which also caused a national uproar, with supporters and critics of the move divided down the middle.
Nevertheless, the Boyz started their qualification in fine form, beating Bermuda 4-0 and easing past Trinidad and Tobago 2-0, to sit atop the group with six points after the September window, two clear of Curaçao in second.
The October window was not as fruitful, as the Boyz went down 2-0 to Curaçao, who then took the lead in the standing by a point.
However, Jamaica regained the lead in the table after another 4-0 win over Bermuda and Trinidad held Curacao to a 1-1 draw.
The Jamaicans closed out the October window with nine points, one more than Curaçao , while Trinidad had five points, and Bermuda none.
Things got bad in the November window for the Boyz, with McClaren getting much of the blame, mainly for poor team selection, especially against Trinidad and Tobago.
In that game, he decided to bench leading striker Shamar Nicholson, then pulled off Renaldo Cephas, the team’s main threat and goalscorer, after taking the lead and then conceding late in the match.
The draw pushed the Boyz back into second on 10 points, after Curaçao beat Bermuda to go to 12 points.
The stage was then set for the Boyz and Curaçao to meet in a decisive match at the National Stadium on November 18, with Jamaica needing to win to earn automatic qualification.
However, the Dutch-speaking country silenced a capacity crowd at the National Stadium with a goalless draw to secure the point they needed, and qualified for their first-ever World Cup.
Jamaica finished second in the group and still have a chance of qualification through the intercontinental play-offs. However, that did not stop the immediate resignation of McClaren during the post-match press conference.
Speid was then appointed as interim coach, with Miguel Coley as his assistant for the two play-off matches. Jamaica will oppose lowly New Caledonia in the play-off semi-finals, with the winners to face Democratic Republic of Congo in the final. The winners will earn a place in the World Cup.
INTERNATIONAL CLUB FOOTBALL
Cavalier were the envy of local football, as they followed up their Caribbean Cup title with an impressive two-leg display against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup in March.
Speid’s team fought gallantly, although they lost the first leg 2-0 in Miami. The defending Jamaica Premier League champions also lost the second leg in Jamaica by the same score.
However, the spectacle of having one of the greatest ever footballers in the history of the game, at the National Stadium, was an event in itself, and Messi’s admirers and fans poured out in their thousands, from all corners of the country, to fill the stadium to capacity.
Messi and former Barcelona teammate Luiz Suarez, scored a goal each in the win. The Argentine scored in time added, much to the delight of his supporters, who chanted his name at the end of a satisfying performance from the little maestro.
However, after losing a number of key pieces in the summer, Cavalier’s defence of their Caribbean Cup title, was not as impressive as their title winning campaign. They lost their first game to Cibao of Dominican Republic 2-1, then drew 1-1 with Juventus Des Cayes of Haiti. And although they beat Defence Force of Trinidad 2-1, to keep their hopes alive they lost their last match 2-1 to Weymouth of Barbados to exit at the first round.
Nevertheless, Jamaica’s other representative, Mount Pleasant breezed through their group phase with wins over Robinhood of Suriname, Moca of the Dominican Republic, Central of Trinidad and Universidad O&M of the Dominican Republic, scoring seven goals and conceding none.
The St Ann-based team then put in an impressive first leg semifinal performance, blowing away Defence Force of Trinidad 5-1.
The passage of Hurricane Melissa in late October kept Mount Pleasant out of competitive football for two weeks, and although they lost the second leg semifinal 1-0 at home, their massive first leg win ensured their place in the final.
Kimonie Bailey scored the only goal in the first leg of the final, to give Mount Pleasant the advantage coming back to Jamaica. However, they required late goals from Warner Brown and Tyrique Magee to come from behind for a 2-2 draw and a 3-2 aggregate win to claim the title, after O&M took a 2-0 lead with 20 minutes to go.
JAMAICA PREMIER LEAGUE
The 2024-25 Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season culminated with the top six teams, Mount Pleasant, Arnett Gardens, Montego Bay, Cavalier, Portmore and Tivoli, respectively, qualifying for the playoffs.
The top two, Mount Pleasant and Arnett, secured the semifinal spots, while the other four contested the quarterfinals.
Montego Bay United and Cavalier prevailed over Tivoli and Portmore, respectively, over two legs to book their places in the last four.
Montego Bay stopped Tivoli 3-1 on aggregate and Cavalier turned back Portmore 2-1.
In the semifinals, Cavalier overcame Arnett 2-1 on aggregate, while Mount Pleasant defeated Montego Bay by the same score over two legs, for a repeat of the finals of the previous two seasons.
For the second season running the game ended in a draw after regulation and extra time, and Cavalier defeated the big spending Mount Pleasant 6-5 on penalties to win back-to-back titles and their third title in four seasons.
TIER II
Spanish Town Police FC and Treasure Beach qualified for Jamaica Premier League (JPL) after making the final of the National Tier II Championship.
The unfancied Spanish Town Police FC were the surprise packages of the competition. In their debut Tier II season, they edged out former JPL qualifiers, Lime Hall 2-1 in a winner take all final preliminary round match, to secure their place in the semis.
They then stopped league favourites Falmouth on penalties in the semifinals, after playing to a 1-1 draw, on aggregate, to book their place in the Premier League.
Treasure Beach, who were unbeaten in the league, defeated Meadforest in their semifinal. However, their unbeaten record came to an end, after Spanish Town beat them 2-0 in the final, to crown themselves Tier II Champions. Both teams advanced to the JPL.
SCHOOLBOY FOOTBALL
After the passage of Hurricane Melissa, there was a huge national debate on whether or not to cancel the schoolboy football season, after the destruction experienced by the country as a result of the Category 5 storm.
In the end, the Inter Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA), after consultations with the various schools and listening to overwhelming public sentiments, decided continue the season.
In the Corporate Area, Excelsior High School defeated prematch favourites Jamaica College 2-0 to win the Manning Cup title for their first title in 21 years.
In the Walker Cup, defending champions Mona High and former winners St Catherine High battled to an exciting 3-3 draw. But it was St Catherine who emerged 4-3 in the penalty shootout, to win their third Walker Cup in six years.
The rural area competitions were just as dramatic and entertaining in their conclusions.
The daCosta Cup final between favourites Glenmuir and St Elizabeth Technical went down to the wire.
Although the final ended goalless, it produced a lot of entertaining and nail-biting moments. However, in the shootout ten-man STETHS upset Glenmuir 8-7 on penalties to win their first title since 2015 and sixth overall.
In the knockout competition, Clarendon College turned back Cornwall College 2-1 to give former Holy Trinity coach, Devon Anderson, his first schoolboy football title, in his first season at the Clarendon school.
The Oliver Shield the symbol of all-island schoolboy football supremacy, will be played on January 10, between Excelsior and STETHS.
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