Reggae Boy Damion Lowe believes some of his compatriots should consider playing their professional football in the Middle East.
Lowe made the suggestion during a recent interview with Simon Preston on the Reggae Boyz Commentary on YouTube.
The 27-year-old defender arrived at Al Ittihad in Alexandria, Egypt, last November, and revealed that since then, he has also seen similar opportunities bear fruit for his national teammates Romario Williams, Darren Mattocks, and Alvas Powell, who are all now playing on the trans-continent.
“After I got here they kept coming to me and saying, ‘Whenever we ask agents for players, they bring Brazilians or Africans, but we need more players, more Jamaicans’,” Lowe explained.
“I told them we Jamaicans work hard, we want to make a living, we are not as valued in the North American continent, and a number of players are out of contract so there is a surplus of us to choose from.”
Lowe discussed how he was instrumental in getting Williams a contract.
“I gave them a couple of names and Romario Williams came,” he said. “Then the agent who played a part in getting myself and Romario here reached out and asked for a defender and a striker and he brought in Darren Mattocks and Alvas Powell.”
However, he thinks there are still many more opportunities to be exploited in the region.
“Our next-door neighbours UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar — the market is open now for Jamaicans because we have come here and we are doing well, and I’m happy I was able to play a part in helping my countrymen,” said Lowe, who thinks the standard of play is competitive for Jamaicans.
“If people pay attention or watch the highlights, there are lots of technically sound players here because clubs have the money to recruit. From our team, the Egyptians called an Olympic team and about six or seven of our players went, they’re also in the national team. You have really good, quality players and the league is demanding.”
Lowe’s Al Ittihad are now in second place in the Egyptian Premier League with 28 points from 17 matches played.