Green light given for Reggae Boyz Middle East friendly

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Next Thursday’s friendly international between Jamaica and Saudi Arabia will go ahead as planned, the Jamaica Football Federation has confirmed.

Doubt had surrounded the fixture in Riyadh after a failure by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to submit on time an application to FIFA for the match to be played.

However, JFF vice-president Bruce Gaynor said the administrative issues had now been dealt with.

“The game is very much on,” he told the Gleaner newspaper here.

“This is a good opportunity for us to take our young players and our local players to experience somewhere in the Middle East.”

The Reggae Boyz have beaten Saudi Arabia once in three previous meetings, losing one and drawing one, but the two teams have not met in 18 years.

Jamaica are expected to have a stern test with the Saudis already having qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after finishing second to Japan in Group B of the Asian section of qualifiers.

Gaynor said playing in the Middle East would be an important for the Reggae Boyz as it provided valuable experience in foreign conditions.

“The JFF will play anywhere around the world once it is safe to go there,” he stressed. Part of the action between defending champion St. Angela’s (white) and Marian Academy (blue) in the Pee Wee Football Championship at the Thirst Park Ground yesterday.