The 2023 Concacaf Boys’ Under-15 Championship wrapped up on Sunday with the United States claiming the League A title with a 4-2 victory over Mexico at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The duel for Third-Place in League A saw an all-Caribbean affair end in a 3-1 victory for Haiti over Jamaica, also at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez.

Nicaragua are champions of League B after edging Saint Lucia 2-1 at the Stadion Rignaal Jean Francisca in Willemstad, Curacao.

In the League B Third-Place Match at the Stadion Rignaal Jean Francisca, Martinique defeated Bermuda 7-6 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

In League C in the Dominican Republic, Saint Martin claimed the title thanks to a 4-1 win over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Final. 

Meanwhile, in the Third-Place Match that was completed on Saturday, Turks and Caicos Islands topped Dominica 1-0.

The 2023 Concacaf Boys’ Under-15 Championship was back in action on Thursday with teams in League A and League B taking the field in the Quarterfinals and Play-Offs.

In the League B quarterfinals at the Stadion Rignaal Jean Francisca in Willemstad, Curacao, Martinique upended hosts Curacao 4-1, Nicaragua emerged victorious 4-2 from a penalty shootout with Antigua and Barbuda after a 1-1 draw, Saint Lucia edged Barbados 1-0, while Bermuda came away with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory against Belize after a 0-0 draw between the two sides.

The League B Play-Off matches all took place at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, where Bonaire defeated Saint Kitts and Nevis 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw, Guadeloupe got past Guyana 2-0, Suriname slipped by Grenada 3-2 and Aruba beat Cayman Islands 4-1 in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw.

The League A quarterfinals all took place at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, beginning with a 4-1 triumph for Jamaica over Honduras. Also registering a victory was Mexico, 1-0 versus Puerto Rico, Haiti handled Canada 1-0 and the United States fended of Guatemala 4-1.

In the League A Play-Offs at the Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, El Salvador defeated Cuba 3-0, Trinidad and Tobago downed Qatar 3-0, Costa Rica marched past Dominican Republic 3-1 and Saudi Arabia squeezed past Panama 2-1.

The year 2023 has been a historic one for football in Jamaica.

In fact, President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, described it as the greatest year in Jamaica’s football history at a press conference held at the JFF headquarters on Thursday.

“We are delighted to be here this morning basking in the glory of a number of the achievements of a number of our national units,” Ricketts said.

“I would say without apology that, so far, this must go down in history as the most successful year ever in the history of football in this country,” he added.

The biggest of those achievements is, undoubtedly, the recent exploits of the Reggae Girlz who became the first Caribbean team to ever advance to the Round of 16 at a FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Four years after their maiden World Cup appearance, the Girlz progressed from Group F including powerhouses France and Brazil, securing draws with both along with a 1-0 win over Panama to finish with five points and progress to the Round of 16 where they suffered a 0-1 loss to Colombia on Tuesday.

“The girls really, really made us proud. I want to reiterate the fact that these girls have impacted the whole world,” Ricketts said.

“Sometimes we don’t understand the magnitude of the achievement until we meet people overseas and they are so amazed that Jamaica, with less than three million people and hardly any world class facilities, can not just qualify for the World Cup, but also be competitive. I know their performance would’ve provided a catalyst for young girls and boys in Jamaica to want to play the sport,” Ricketts added.

On the men’s side, the Reggae Boyz got to the semi-finals of the Concacaf Gold Cup for the first time since 2019 and, in the process, got their biggest win ever in the tournament with a 5-0 group stage win over St. Kitts & Nevis.

The Gold Cup also saw the Reggae Boyz defeat Guatemala for the first time in 11 years and Trinidad & Tobago for the first time in seven years. Individually, Demarai Gray was named to the team of the tournament.

Some other achievements for Jamaican teams included the Under-20 Reggae Girlz defeating a Central American team at the Concacaf U-20 Championships since 2020 with a 4-1 win over Panama.

The Under-15 Reggae Boyz are currently in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf U-15 Championship for the first time. They will take on Honduras on Thursday.

Jamaica also produced the youngest scorer in the history of the CAC Games when 18-year-old Shaniel Buckley scored in a 1-1 draw with Puerto Rico.

Jamaica’s Under-15 reggae Girlz suffered a 0-5 defeat at the hands of Canada to kick off their CONCACAF U-15 Girls Championship at the Hillsborough County Sportsplex Field 2 in Florida.

Nikolina Istocki got a double while Keira Martin, Annabelle Chukwu and Taegan Stewart got the goals for the Canadians.

In the other Group B match on the day, defending champions the USA hammered Puerto Rico 12-0.

Jamaica’s next game will be against the dangerous Americans on Tuesday while Canada will take on Puerto Rico.