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• JFF president Ricketts highlights sustained youth development, potential partnership with Argentina in ambitious goals for 2025

  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.

   

• Lillard hails Antetokounmpo influence after Bucks' upturn in form

  Damian Lillard saluted the spirit and determination shown by team-mate Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA Cup semi-final showdown with the Atlanta Hawks.

  The Bucks endured a difficult start to the 2024-25 season, winning just two of their opening 10 games.

  However, they have turned their fortunes around - winning in 11 of their subsequent 14 outings, including five straight victories in cup play.

  That sealed their second successive NBA Cup semi-final appearance, and Lillard highlighted the attitude of Antetokounmpo as a key factor in the turnaround.

  "His mind was never shut off, he was never discouraged, he was never overly concerned," Lillard told reporters.

  "There was always fight. Our conversations had always been like: 'We're going to turn it around, we're going to figure it out, we've got to lead, we've got to keep going, we've got to dominate'.

  "That was the conversation and that's my spirit, naturally. Just to be in a situation like that and to see that that's his spirit naturally as well, that's what made me just believe.

  "I wasn't overly concerned. I knew that, eventually, it would turn around just based off of that. We've got ourselves going in the right direction.

  "We've been able to win a lot of games lately, and this is just another opportunity for us to continue that - but with more on the line, and with us getting even more momentum from an experience like this."

  Antetokounmpo acknowledged the Bucks' difficult start to the season forced the team to increase their urgency levels, and the power forward has seen the benefits of that in recent weeks.

  "We were playing very, very bad basketball at the beginning of the year, and we just needed to win games," he said. "It's a feeling you don't like.

  "I think we definitely had, as a team, a little more urgency. We had to fix some things. We had to play more team basketball, we had to compete at a higher level.

  "We were just trying to turn the season around for us. We were bad. Now, we've been competing, we've been playing better, guys are together, and we've had a great stretch. We've just got to keep it going."

• 'We were moving in the right direction' - Maxey rues Embiid injury setback

  Joel Embiid's sinus fracture "sucks" as the Philadelphia 76ers were "moving in the right direction", according to team-mate Tyrese Maxey.

  Embiid suffered the blow early in the second half of the 76ers' 121-107 defeat to the Indiana Pacers, after he was caught by Bennedict Mathurin's stray elbow.

  It was the latest setback in a stop-start season for the center, who has played in just six of his side's 23 games.

  Embiid has been persistently troubled by swelling in his left knee, while he also served a three-match suspension following an altercation with a reporter.

  While his injury will be evaluated this weekend, Maxey acknowledged he and his team-mates must learn to cope without the 30-year-old.

  "You just have to move on and practice when we practice again, and have a next-man-up mentality," said Maxey, who led Philadelphia with 22 points.

  "What sucks about this is that we were moving in the right direction. Guys were figuring out roles, what the coach wants from them and playing the right way.

  "We know how to play with Joel - and now, we may have to revert our minds to playing without him. That's OK. It's different. That's how life is."

  Meanwhile, coach Nick Nurse empathised with Embiid following his latest setback.

  "He's been in a really good place all week, and he practised all week," he said. 

  "We did a lot of stuff to get up to speed with him. But I can imagine that he can feel like the black cloud is over him a little bit. He just keeps running into something, really unfortunately."