Reggae Boyz defender Damion Lowe is now a player for the Philadelphia Union in the USA’s Major League Soccer (MLS) after being acquired by the franchise in a trade with Inter Miami CF.

The trade was announced on Wednesday.

According to the franchises, in exchange for the 29-year-old Lowe, Philadelphia sent Miami $225,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), a natural first-round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and the Priority Homegrown Rights for Inter Miami II forward Shanyder Borgelin.

Sporting Director at Philadelphia Union is optimistic about Lowe’s arrival.

“Damion is an experienced defender who fits into our current needs,” he said.

“He’s an athletic, quick player and we expect him to be an important piece of our defensive unit as we begin a season that will require lineup and formation changes due to the unprecedented number of matches.”

Meanwhile, Inter Miami CSO and sporting director Chris Henderson, in a statement thanked Lowe for the time he spent at Inter Miami.

“We want to thank Damion for everything he’s done for Inter Miami during his time with the club and wish him the best moving forward,” he said.

At Philadelphia, Lowe joins his Reggae Boyz teammate, goalkeeper Andre Blake.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has lauded the West Indies players named in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Teams of the Year for 2022.

Three West Indies players were announced by the ICC on Tuesday in the annual awards.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite was picked in the Test Team of the Year, while wicket-keeper/batsman Shai Hope and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph earned spots in the One-Day International (ODI) Team of the Year.

Brathwaite averaged 62 in seven Tests during the last calendar year, scoring two hundreds – a monumental 160 against England at Kensington Oval in March and an outstanding 110 against Australia at the Perth Stadium in December, on the eve of his birthday.

Hope maintained his consistency in the ODIs, averaging 35 with three centuries from 21 ODIs. He was among only seven players to pass 700 runs for the year.

The highlight was his knock of 115 in his 100th appearance against India at Queens Park Oval in July.

Joseph was also among the leading wicket-takers in ODIs for the year, with 27 wickets at an average of 25 runs per wicket from 17 matches and featured in all three formats.

“Captain Kraigg Brathwaite continued to lead from the front with a number of world-class batting displays, which characterize his composed and courageous style of play,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt in praising the West Indies Test captain.

“The major achievement was leading the team to victory over England to capture the Richards Botham trophy which brought glory to West Indies fans.

“Shai Hope also demonstrated his immense talent in front the stumps and agility behind the wickets. He too showcased an exceptionally high level of skill, and a great sense of occasion, with a remarkable century to mark his 100th appearance against India in Trinidad.”

In his praise of Joseph, Skerritt said, “Alzarri I Joseph emerged as the leader of the bowling attack in ODIs and was consistent and persistent all year in all three formats.

“He has matured from an exciting young speedster to a truly world-class pace bowler and is reaping the rewards for the hard work he has been putting in off the field. We applaud all three for their outstanding performances in 2022 and also wish them continued success and growth in 2023 and beyond.”

Healthy again and armed with a new mindset, Demisha Roswell is intent on making her senior year count for Texas Tech in the NCAA this season.

The 25-year-old former Vere Technical athlete impressed on Friday, January 20, when she ran 7.98 over 60m to finish second to Masai Russell at the Red Raider Open in Lubbock, Texas.

Kentucky’s Russell won in a world-leading 7.75 but Roswell’s time made her the fastest Jamaican woman in the world this year after eclipsing the 8.00 run by Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent in Fayetteville, Arkansas on January 13.

It was a welcome return to form from injury for Roswell, who defeated Nugent to win the Big 12 Championships last May, running an outdoor personal best 12.44 for the 100m hurdles.

However, her celebrations were short-lived as an injury slowed her significantly for the remainder of the season. She was seventh at the NCAA Division I Championships in a pedestrian 12.94 and just missed out on a place on Jamaica’s team to the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, when she finished fourth at the Jamaican championships in 12.83.

Since then, the work she has put in to get healthy again has been  paying off but it wasn’t easy.

“The background work was somewhat tough for me because I was struggling with my injury plus my mentals, but it paying off little by little,” she said.

“It (rehab) went well even though I hate it but my coach and trainer were very tough on me to get me back where I’m supposed to be.

“The time didn’t surprise me at all, to be honest. I’m confident about this season so I’m hoping I keep healthy.”

Roswell also revealed that she is approaching the new season with a different mindset. She is more focused and committed to being successful this season as she intends to leave her mark in her final year in the NCAA.

“I want more this year and I want my name to be remembered,” she said.

Another poor performance with the bat resulted in another embarrassing loss for the West Indies Women, this time by 10 wickets against South Africa in the ongoing Tri-Nation Series in East London on Wednesday.

Batting first, the West Indies Women crawled to 97-6 from their 20 overs. As has become the norm, the Caribbean women struggled early slipping to 29-4 in the 10^th over with Rashada Williams (1), Britney Cooper (10), Shermaine Campbelle (1) and Shenetta Grimmond (5) all back in the hutch.

Captain Hayley Matthews and Shabika Gajnabi stitched together 61-run partnership but it took 53-balls to achieve. Gajnabi off the first ball of the final over for 33 with Matthews following two balls later for a top score of 34.

Tumi Sekhukhune was the best of the South African bowlers with 2-24.  Nonkululeko Mlaba returned miserly figures of 1-7 from her four overs.

Where the West Indies Women struggled, South Africa’s Women seemed at ease cruising to 98-0 from 13.4 overs. Tasmin Brits was unbeaten on an even 50 at the end while her opening partner Laura Wolvaardt was not out on 42.

Jamaica Premier League outfit Chapelton Maorons have been punished for failing to turn up for their fixture with Mount Pleasant Academy at the Effortville Community Centre on Sunday.

The Maroons, who fired experienced head coach Lenworth Hyde last week, were unable to field an 11 due to many players being unavailable.

Notably, the Maroons squad is made up mostly of schoolboys and the JPL has a rule that does not allow a team to field more than five amateurs to a team per match.

Before his dismissal, Hyde noted that this rule will put the team in a tough situation, especially since if the players sign professional contracts, they will be ineligible for overseas scholarship opportunities.

Match Commissioner Anthony Gibbs said he had not gotten any correspondence from Chapelton nor the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for the absence of the Clarendon-based team.

The JFF announced the sanctions in a release on Monday:

“The Competitions Committee of the JFF has handed down sanctions to Chapelton Maroons who failed to turn up for their JPL fixture versus Mount Pleasant FC at the Effortville Community Center on Sunday, January 22.

1. For breach of Article 7.5 and 6, the game has been awarded to Mount Pleasant FA by a score of three goals to nil (3-0). Chapelton Maroons FC has also been fined Two hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000). This payment must be made on or before Friday, February 3, 2023.

1. In keeping with the regulations, a further six (6) points has been deducted from the club’s current points standing.  The club must also compensate for any damages or losses suffered by Mount Pleasant FA and the JFF up to a maximum of One Hundred & Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000). Invoices will be provided as soon as they are available.

1. Finally, the club will be referred to the JFF Disciplinary Committee for further actions to be taken in accordance with Article 70 of the JFF Disciplinary Code.”

The Maroons are currently twelfth in the 14-team JPL table with eight points from 10 games.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has announced new policy guidelines surrounding sexual harassment, whistle blowers and safeguarding children and young people.

The new policies emerged from a meeting of the JFF board on Saturday January 21^st.

The policies, the JFF said, complement the Procurement Policy already approved in December 2022 and submitted to FIFA.

According to the JFF the Sexual Harassment policy aims to safeguard employees of both genders from unwanted sexual advances and provide them with guidelines to report incidents.

The new policy explains how they handle complaints and take action against offenders.

“The JFF aims to provide a safe working environment and prohibits any form of sexual harassment,” the football governing body said it a statement on Monday.

“Hence, any act of sexual harassment or related retaliation against an employee is unacceptable. This policy, therefore, intends to prohibit such occurrences and details the procedures to follow when an employee believes that a violation of the Policy has occurred. Making a false complaint of sexual harassment or providing false information regarding a complaint will also be treated as a violation of the policy,” the JFF said.

With regards to its Whistle Blower policy, the JFF said it will provide a mechanism for all directors, officers, employees and contractors of JFF to report and disclose, in good faith, all improper or illegal conduct which adversely affects this entity or is contrary to the public interest, without fear of punishment or reprisal.

This policy, it said, is also aimed at facilitating prompt and full investigations into reports which are made in good faith and stipulates the procedure which must be complied with when addressing any complaints which alleged acts or attempted acts of interference, intimidation or reprisal against directors, officers, employees and contractors who report, disclose or investigate such acts.

“Therefore, all directors, officers, employees and contractors of JFF are encouraged to adhere to the procedures and guidelines specified in this Policy for reporting all allegations of suspected improper or illegal acts,” the JFF said.

The policy governing the Safeguarding of Children and Young People aims to ensure compliance with the Children (Child care and Protection Act) (2004) that all children participating in activities and programmes organized by the JFF do so in as safe a manner as possible.

 In addition to the policies approved, the JFF has also taken steps to ensure that it conforms with internationally accepted standards, by commissioning background checks on all coaching and technical staff, and will further expand this as they seek to bring full transparency and comfort around the persons involved with the operations of the JFF.

“This is especially as we recognize that we are the guardians of children directly, through our national teams and camps, and also have to interact with children nationally,” the JFF said.

 In addition, the board also deliberated on the coaching qualifications in Jamaica, as it recognizes how critical coaching development is for a sustainable and improved football product.

Against that background, the board approved the following:

A subsidy of $150,000 for the next batch of 24 coaches that will be doing the CONCACAF B License, which will be selected as at least one from each parish and the national coaches.

For 2023, there will be two B License sessions of 24 each, and in order to encourage participation we will subsidize the first batch. The full cost is $300,000, which means that participants will only have to pay $150,000 and there are currently 27 B License coaches already.

A subsidy of $40,000 for the next batch of 24 coaches that will be doing the CONCACAF C License, which will be selected as at least one from each parish and the national coaches.

 For 2023, there will be four B License sessions of 24 each, and in order to encourage participation we will subsidize the first batch. The full cost is $80,000, which means that participants will only have to pay $40,000 and there are currently 57 C License coaches already

The JFF, through the Technical Committee, will do an assessment as to whether a subsidy is needed for JFF D License certification. There are currently 300 D License coaches already.

 “The JFF encourages coaches to take advantage of the available certifications, especially that as of next season the minimum coaching requirements will be as follows:

Premier League Men’s – every coach must either have a CONCACAF B License or is actively registered

Tier 2 Men’s and Premier League Women’s – every coach must have a CONCACAF C License or is actively registered

Major League – every coach must have a JFF D License or JFF Advanced Level 2 certification or is actively registered

Every person involved with the youth must do a safeguarding course, and is familiar with the Safeguarding Children and Young People policy.

 At the highest level of CONCACAF A License, the JFF currently has 10 coaches completing the course, with seven of the 10 almost certified.

“The JFF is committed to improve the governance and transparency around our operations, to ensure that our stakeholders are fully aware of decisions taken that will affect the JFF and football in general,” said JFF President Michael Ricketts.

“I have therefore asked that these decisions be communicated to the public to show the steps being taken to continue the development of football in Jamaica and chart an even more successful path for Jamaica’s international performance. The JFF recognizes that we are seen as one of the leaders in CONCACAF and will ensure that we do not disappoint.”

Indian Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and opener Smriti Mandhana starred to lead India to a 56-run win over the West Indies in the South Africa Women’s T20I Tri-Series at Buffalo Park in South Africa on Monday.

An unbroken 115-run third-wicket partnership off 70 deliveries from Smriti Mandhana and Captain Harmanpreet Kaur helped India post 167-2 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

The first wicket came in the final over of the first powerplay when wicket-keeper Rashada Williams took a sharp catch off the bowling of Karishma Ramharack to remove Yastika Bhatia for 18 with the score on 33.

Mandhana and Harleen Deol then came together and put on a further 14 runs before an eventful ninth over. A Deol boundary brought up India’s fifty before she was trapped in front for 12 by Shanika Bruce one ball later. This brought Kaur to the crease and the pair never looked back.

Mandhana brought up her 20^th T20I fifty with a boundary off Shabika Gajnabi in the 16^th over and smashed a six off Afy Fletcher in the 19^th over to bring up India’s 150.

In the final over, Kaur brought up her ninth 50 in T20Is.

In the end, Mandhana hit 10 fours and one six on her way to an unbeaten 74 off 51 deliveries while Kaur finished with 56 off 35 with eight fours.

Shanika Bruce took 1-25 from her four overs for the Windies.

Despite losing only four wickets in their chase, the West Indies fell well short of their target, finishing 112-4 from their 20 overs.

Shemaine Campbelle top-scored with 47 while captain Hayley Matthews got 34 not out for the Caribbean side.

In a change at the top of the order, Rashada Williams, who batted at three in the first game against South Africa, opened the innings alongside Britney Cooper.

The West Indies lost their first wicket in just the second over when Cooper was dismissed by off-spinner Deepti Sharma for a first ball duck. In another change, Campbelle joined Williams at the crease.

Williams was next to go as she became Sharma’s second victim for eight to leave the Windies 20-2 in just the fourth over. Shabika Gajnabi came in at four.

At the end of the first powerplay, the Windies only managed 25 runs. The second ball of the seventh over saw the demise of Gajnabi for three off the bowling of Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

Captain Matthews then joined Campbelle in the middle and the two batted as well as they could given the team’s awful first powerplay.

They brought up their 50-partnership in the 14^th over and looked set to bat through the remaider of the innigs before Campbelle’s 57-ball knock finally ended in the 18^th over when she was caught brilliantly on the boundary by Amanjot Kaur off the bowling of Radha Yadav.

Deepti Sharma took 2-29 from her four overs while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Radha Yadav took 1-16 and 1-10 from four overs, respectively.

Scores: India Women 167-2 from 20 overs, West Indies Women 111-4 from 20 overs.

India now has two wins from as many games in the Tri-Series while the West Indies have now lost their first two games. The West Indies will next play South Africa on Wednesday. South Africa won the first clash between the two by 44 runs on Saturday.

Paul Palmer has been named captain of the Jamaica Scorpions squad set to contest the upcoming regional four-day championship. The squad was announced today by the selection panel of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA).

Jamaica Scorpions are scheduled to play the Leeward Hurricanes in the first round of the competition and the Barbados Pride in the second round. Both matches are set to be played in Antigua. The Scorpions are due to arrive in Antigua on January 29th and scheduled to return on February 12, 2023.

Andrew Richardson has been named head coach while Nikita Miller is the assistant coach.

The full squad: Paul Palmer (captain), Jamie Merchant, Alwyn Williams,  Aldaine Thomas,  Leroy Lugg,      Kirk McKenzie,  Romaine Morris,  Abhijai Mansingh, Patrick Harty, Akim Fraser,  Marquino Mindley,  Gordon Bryan and  Ojay Shields.

Jamaica Premier League club, Portmore United Football Club has signed national player Alex Marshall on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Following another ignominious batting display the West Indies Women U19 team slumped to a four-wicket defeat to Rwanda in Super-Six play of the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup at Potchefstroom on Sunday.

Batting first, the West Indies were dismissed for 70 from 16.3 overs. Opener Realeanna Grimmond scored 18 and was the only batter in double figures.

The young West Indies women has no answer to the bowling of Marie Tumukunde, who took match-winning figures of 4-8 and Sylvia Usabyimana, who ended with 4-20.

Needing 71 for victory, Rwanda were in some trouble at 36-5 in the 11^th over but Captain Gisele Ishimwe’s steady innings of an unbeaten 31 from 53 balls steered her team to victory with 10 balls to spare.

The loss means the West Indies Women U19 are third in Group 2 after consecutive losses. England and New Zealand are first and second, respectively in the group.

Both teams remain unbeaten in the competition.

St Lucia’s sprint queen Julien Alfred set a new NCAA record on Saturday clocking a world-leading 7.02 to win the 60m dash at the Martin Luther King Invitational held at the Albuquerque Convention Centre at the University of New Mexico.

The University of Texas Senior ran a world-leading 7.05 in the preliminary round before storming to the new record and personal best in the final.

The final was barely a contest as Alfred, the 2022 NCAA 100m champion, was miles ahead of Texas teammate Rhasidat Adekele, who was runner up in 7.20 just edging out Maboundou Kone, who ran 7.21 for third.

Alfred now owns the three fastest times over 60m ran by any woman in NCAA history at 7.02, 7.04 and 7.05 seconds, respectively

Saturday’s victory was a continuation of her impressive start to the season.

She won her season-opener event in the 300m dash at the Commonwealth College Opener with a time of 37.36. She went on to win the 200m at the Cardinal Classic with a time of 23.10 and helped Texas run the 13-fastest 4x400 time in UT history with a time of 3:30.55.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews is adamant that the team must find a way to put more runs on the board after another disappointing showing at the crease, this time against South Africa in the tri-series on Saturday.

The loss marked the 9th match in a row for the regional team, who last tasted victory in a win over New Zealand in September.  Against South Africa, the team’s now familiar struggles at the crease came to the fore.

After holding the South Africans to 141 on a slow pitch, the West Indies could not get to triple digits as they were dismissed for 97.  Perhaps even more concerning was the team’s collapse from 32 without loss to 67 for 6.

“It’s clear we don’t score enough runs.  Not being able to put it together with big enough partnerships and get enough big scores, which is something we definitely need to win the big games that are crucial,” Matthews, who top scored for the team with 23 from 35 balls, said.  

“At the same time we have a lot of injuries, at the moment, with a lot of our key batters out but we are hoping we can get some more runs on the board in future games with the team that we have,” she added.

Ahead of the World Cup the team could be bolstered in the batting department by the return of star all-rounder Stafanie Taylor.  Taylor is close to returning from injury but not yet available for selection.

West Indies Women pace bowler Shamilia Connell grabbed two wickets on a productive return to the team’s line-up, but that did little to prevent a dominant 44-run win for South Africa in the women’s tri-series on Saturday. 

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, South Africa all-rounder Marizanne Kapp scored a shot-filled 55 from 43, a total that included 5 fours.  

Kapp who came into the line-up following the early dismal of opener Anneke Bosch, a set-back for the team at 27 for 1, went on to anchor the majority of the innings.

Following the dismissal of South Africa’s other opener Laura Wolvaardt, Kapp was joined by Sune Luus and the pair put together a key 63-run stand off 53 balls for the third wicket.  Luss made 30 from 26.

On a slow surface, a spin-heavy Windies did manage to restrict the South Africans to a competitive 141 for 5 but Connell, who recently returned from injury, was the pick of the Windies bowlers with 2 for 17.

In response, the Windies poor batting form, particularly of late, continued to be cause for concern.  They collapsed from 32 for 0 to 67 for 6.  Thanks in large part to Masabata Klaas who took three of those six wickets. The bowler, in fact, found herself on a hat-trick in the tenth over when she removed West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and Shabika Gajnabi in back-to-back deliveries.

Matthews, who made 23 from 35, Britney Cooper (15), Shemaine Campbelle (11) and Connell (15) were the batters to get into double figures but all failed to carry on.  Masabata ended with figures of 4 for 21.

The West Indies will look to break their T20 international losing streak when they face India Women on Monday.