A Brief History Of Jamaican Football

Some of the records available indicates that football (soccer) was introduced in Jamaica towards the end of the 19th century and 1893 is listed as the year Jamaica formed it's first football club. Jamaica's first international appearance was against their Caribbean neighbors Haiti in 1925. They played a three-match series. Jamaica won all three games by 1-0, 2-1 and 3-0. Between 1925 and when Jamaica gained it's independence 1962, Jamaica had regular games with Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba and clubs like Racing and Violette from Haiti, Corinthians of Britain, the Tigers from Argentina, and even a series of matches with a Caribbean ALL Stars team in 1952.

International games were the start of Jamaica's football quest with most of the home matches being played at Sabina Park. In 1965 under the leadership of Brazilian coach Jorge Penna, Jamaica made its first attempt at World Cup qualifying. This was for the 1966 World Cup finals in England. Jamaica's first game was against Cuba which they won 2-0. In the qualifying match against the Netherlands Antilles, Jamaica also had a 2-0 victory. In the away games Jamaica was held to a goaless draw with the Netherlands Antilles and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Cuba. Jamaica then advanced to the final group of 3 which included Costa Rica and Mexico. Jamaica lost at home to Mexico 3-2 and in the return leg in Mexico City Jamaica was defeated 8-0.

Jamaica lost 7-0 to Costa Rica in their first encounter and had a 1-1 tie when they played at home. In 1968 coach George Hamilton took leadership as Jamaica made an attempt to qualify for the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico. Jamaica lost all of their qualifying games in that year. The 1978 Word Cup in Argentina saw Jamaica playing Cuba and losing 3-1 at the National Stadium and then 2-0 in Havana Cuba. Jamaica did not qualify. In 1982 Jamaica did not make an attempt for the World Cup Final set in Spain due to insufficient funds and a poorly prepared team. In preparation for the 1990 World Cup with coach Jeffery Maxwell Jamaica won both preliminary games against Puerto Rico 1-0 in Jamaica and 2-0 at Puerto Rico.

The U.S, were the next opponents and was held to a goaless draw. The return leg in the U.S. saw Jamaica losing 5-1 bringing an end to their qualifying attempt. The United States hosted the World Cup 1994. In qualifying Jamaica beat Puerto Rico 2-1 and was then faced Bermuda, Canada, and El Salvador . Jamaica tied 1-1 with Canada and Bermuda and then lost 2-0 to El Salvador, 1-0 to Canada, 2-1 to El Salvador. Jamaica then beat Bermuda 3-2 but did not qualify. Under Brazilian professor Rene Simones and National coach Carl Brown, the Jamaican team has become a "Powerhouse" in the Caribbean region and received "Best Mover" award by FIFA in 1996.

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