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 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 were invited to the French-speaking Caribbean island by Andre
Chevalon, president of the then United Sporting Society and it was
for a three-match series between the two countries. Jamaica won
all three games by 1-0, 2-1 and 3-0. The following year Jamaica
hosted their Haitians counterparts at Sabina Park and won by 6-0.
The Haitians remained frequent opponents and it was not until 1932
that their run of defeats was broken with a 4-1 home win in
Port-au-Prince.
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. The Caribbean All Stars team included such notables
as Michael (The Ruin) Kruin from Suriname and also representing
Jamaica were Lindy Delapenha and Gillie Heron. The four games were
shared equally with Jamaica winning the second 2-1 and the fourth
1-0 and the All Stars winning the first 5-1 and the third 1-O.
Those friendly international
games were the start of Jamaica's football quest with most of the
home matches being played at Sabina Park. Many clubs were
established during this time including Kensington, Melbourne,
Kingston, Lucas and St. George's Old Boys, thus providing the
talent Jamaica needed at the time.
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. The preliminary group included Cuba, the Netherlands
Antilles, and Jamaica. Jamaica's first game was against Cuba which
they won 2-0 at Jamaica's National Stadium. In the qualifying
match against the Netherlands Antilles, Jamaica also had a 2-0
victory with both goals coming. 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. The winner of this group
would represent the CONCACAF region. Jamaica lost at home to
Mexico 3-2 and in the return leg in Mexico City the high altitude
proved to much for the Jamaicans and they were 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 had only a couple remaining
players from the previous World Cup team and had to rebuild
because most of the players had retired or migrated to North
America and England. Jamaica lost all of their qualifying games in
that year.
Jamaica's participation in the
1974 World Cup elimination saw the suspension of 17 players on the
team because of poor behavior on a tour to Bermuda. Jamaica
withdrew from the elimination in order to restructure their team.
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. Jamaica did not participate in
the 1986 World Cup because suspension for affiliation fees that
was due to FIFA.
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 brining 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 from which two teams
would advance to the final round. 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. Their ranking continues to
change as they get closer to the finals on
their road to France.
Jamaica made history by becoming
the first English speaking country from the Caribbean to ever
qualify for the world cup finals.
Qualifying
Record:
1930-1962:
Did not enter
1966
Eliminated 2nd (final) qualifying round
Jamaica 2 - Cuba 0 (National Stadium)
Jamaica 1 - Cuba 2 (Havana)
Jamaica 2 - Netherland 0 (National Stadium)
Jamaica 0 - Netherland Antilles0 (Antilles)
Mexico 3-Jamaica 2 (National Stadium)
Mexico 8 - Jamaica 0 (Mexico City)
Costa Rica - Jamaica 0 (San Jose)
Costa Rica 1- Jamaica 1 (National Stadium)
1970
Eliminated 1st qualifying round
Costa Rica 3 - Jamaica 0 (San Jose)
Costa Rica 3- Jamaica 1(San Jose)
Honduras 3 - Jamaica 0 (San Jose)
Honduras 2 - Jamaica 0 (San Jose)
1974
Did not enter
1978
Eliminated 2nd qualifying round
Cuba 3 - Jamaica 1(National Stadium)
Cuba 2 - Jamaica 0 (Havana)
1982
Did not enter
1986
Did not enter
1990
Eliminated 2nd qualifying round
Jamaica 2 - Puerto Rico 1 (San Juan)
jamaica 1 - Puerto Rico 0 (National Stadium)
jamaica 0 - USA 0 (National Stadium)
United States 5 - Jamaica 1 (St. Louis)
1994
Eliminated 2nd qualifying round
1998
Finals
World Cup 98 France
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