As the year draws to a close, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts is brimming with pride over the achievements of Jamaican football in 2024 while setting ambitious goals for 2025.

In a comprehensive reflection, Ricketts highlighted the strides made across all levels of the sport and detailed plans to build on this momentum.

For Ricketts, the past year has been one of historic firsts and standout performances. The senior men’s team claimed their first medal in the Concacaf Nations League since 2017, with a third-place finish, which saw them being the first Caribbean team to achieve such a feat. They also scored their first-ever goal in Copa America, a significant milestone in their three-time participation in the prestigious tournament.

“It’s no secret how challenging it is to compete at the highest levels in regional and global football. The fact that we’ve broken new ground in these tournaments speaks volumes about our progress,” Ricketts said during a virtual press conference on Friday.

Additionally, Ricketts underscored the contributions of locally-based talent, with 14 players from the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) making their senior national team debuts in 2024. This achievement, he noted, reflects the federation’s commitment to nurturing homegrown players and showcasing their skills on the global stage.

The year also saw significant accomplishments for Jamaica’s youth and women’s teams as the Under-14 boys secured a resounding victory in the CFU tournament, where they scored seven goals in 40 minutes to clinch the title. Meanwhile, the Reggae Girlz wrapped up their year with a dominant two-match friendly series against South Africa, performances that Ricketts believes underscore their status as a formidable force in women’s football.

He also lauded the Caribbean Cup and CFU Shield accomplishments of JPL clubs Cavalier FC and Arnett Gardens, respectively.

“So I mean, we locally seem to take these things lightly, but people around the region really don't, so I must say congratulations. I must recognise the achievements of Ms. Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, who was 15th in the Women's Ballon d'Or, and this speaks volume, especially when you think about the fact that ‘Bunny’ is a homegrown talent,” Ricketts noted.

Looking ahead, Ricketts outlined an ambitious calendar for 2025, starting with preparations for critical tournaments at every level. The Under-17 boys will head to Mexico in January to fine-tune their skills ahead of World Cup qualifiers in Guatemala in February. Similarly, the Under-17 and Under-20 Reggae Girlz will compete in qualifiers early in the year.

The senior men’s team will resume their World Cup qualifying campaign in June, facing the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Guatemala, and they will also engage in the Concacaf Gold Cup preliminaries against St Vincent and the Grenadines in March.

Additionally, Ricketts revealed that the JFF is in discussions with Trinidad and Tobago to organize a two- or three-match series in February with an aim to maintain competitive momentum.

Despite the successes, Ricketts acknowledged areas for improvement, including exposing more young players to high-level competition. He also emphasized the importance of succession planning, particularly in transitioning talent from youth to senior levels.

In fact, he pointed out that JFF’s Technical Development Scheme (TDS) and regional scouting initiatives will play a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing elite players across age groups.

“We're not infallible, so we would have fallen short in some areas. I mean, I think we have not been able to expose enough of our young players, and that would be one of our weaknesses to expose our young talents. But I think we are on track to have this issue corrected,” Ricketts shared.

“We are focused on ensuring that our young players have clear pathways to progress through the ranks. Having now established this coaching empowerment programme, we are online to, of course, achieve a better development programme and, of course, high-quality senior players. This approach will help us remain competitive on both the regional and global stages,” he added.

The President explained that the JFF is also prioritizing partnerships with international clubs and organizations to enhance local football, as he hinted at the possibility of a bilateral programme with Argentina, which will facilitate coach exchanges and knowledge-sharing.

“We have had discussions with the Argentine ambassador here in Jamaica, and we have established a partnership that will be formally announced. So yes, we are working on that, and this is just a start.

“I think it's very important, and in fact, part of the early discussions would be a kind of programme where coaches would go to countries overseas visiting top-notch clubs, and they would probably come here to see what we do have to offer,” he noted.

That said, Ricketts is optimistic about the future, in which he envisions a vibrant footballing ecosystem where homegrown talent thrives alongside the best in the world.

“We will be working on that assiduously and with the highest level of urgency to ensure that the elite local players get their opportunity to showcase their talent at the national level. We want to ensure that each of our Reggae Girlz also gets the opportunity to showcase their talent. So this is something that we are aware of and something that we are giving some serious attention,” Ricketts ended.