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• Long overdue: UK based entities Ryder Architecture and CAA Icon have joint-proposal accepted by Jamaican Sport Ministry to redevelop National Stadium

  The redevelopment of the place that has played host to so many of Jamaica’s track and field heroes, the National Stadium, is close to beginning as Jamaica’s Ministry of Sport has accepted a joint proposal from UK based entities Ryder Architecture and CAA Icon to oversee the project.

  Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Hon. Olivia Grange made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday providing updates on the redevelopment project.

  “We met with representatives from both Ryder Architecture and CAA Icon and they submitted a joint proposal to us for the renovation and redevelopment of facilities at Independence Park, particularly the National Stadium,” the Minister said on Tuesday.

  She continued: “The document, in essence, proposes to, not only address the shortcomings of the existing stadium, but to identify, through qualitative and quantitative assessment, the full potential for this iconic stadium with enhancement as a major tournament venue, training centre and visitor attraction to promote Jamaica and Jamaican sport talent.”

  Ryder Architecture and CAA Icon have worked together many times and have been involved in stadiums around the world such as Wembley, the Emirates Stadium, the 02 Arena, Stadio Olimpico and the San Siro.

  “My Ministry, through its oversight committee and the executing agency, Independence Park Limited, is of the view that Ryder Architecture and CAA Icon can deliver on the proposal given the entities’ years in the business of building and redeveloping sports facilities worldwide,” Grange said.

  The project will see the capacity of the National Stadium increase from 28,500 to 35,000 and will make the country able to bid to host major global events like the World Athletics Championships.

  Dispensing with the bleachers, establishing modern facilities for anti-doping, new facilities for media, the establishment of a modern and iconic sports museum, new modern lighting, new seating options, new conference and meeting facilities, premium suites and lounges and new concession facilities among other upgrades were discussed by Grange’s team and the entities.

  The next step in the re-development project of the National Stadium is a stadium assessment and feasibility study.

  “The study includes a thorough economic and feasibility analysis to identify local and international market demand to ensure that use, and therefore design proposals are aligned to economic demand,” Grange said before stating that these studies will commence in a few weeks and be completed within eight months.

  The results of those studies will inform phase two which is the project initiation, concept design and approval stage.

  Phase three will involve the detailed design and appointment of a contractor in which a groundbreaking date of August 2025 is being targeted.

  Phase four will involve construction and phase five is the operational readiness and handover.

  Grange anticipates that the whole project will last about 30 months or two and a half years.

  The football field and running track will be unaffected during the construction process according to Independence Park Limited General Manager, Major Desmon Brown, who noted that the only inconvenience caused will be a limited capacity of seats for the duration of the process.

  The funding for this project came from a government to government framework for co-operation agreement signed by Jamaica’s Finance Minister, the Hon. Nigel Clarke, and CEO of UK Export Finance, Tim Reid earlier this year.

  Clarke, as well as UK Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Jennifer Chapman, were both in attendance on Tuesday.

  “UK Export Finance are delighted that this agreement will enable them to support Jamaica’s game changing national priority projects and is proud to back the implementation of high-quality UK solutions and innovations alongside UK Government funding,” said Chapman.

  “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get this deal over the finish line before the departure of Mr. Clarke for his next role at the IMF,” she added.

  “When I met the head of the UK Export Finance at a function at the UK High Commission, light bulbs began to go off because there he was in Jamaica looking for business and engagement and I know have projects that we want to develop but where the technical capacity is not abundantly available in Jamaica, for obvious reasons,” Clarke said.

  “Sparks began to fly about how we could use the format of a government to government co-operation with the UK Export entity to provide the framework through which the feasibility could be delivered and the construction to follow for the stadium,” he added.

• McClaren, Latibeaudiere take heart from draw against Honduras but stress need for improvement in hunt for future success

  It may not have been the most polished performance by the Reggae Boyz in their goalless Concacaf Nations League Group B stalemate against Honduras, but Reggae Boyz Head coach Steve McClaren and midfielder Joel Latibeaudiere were still full of praise for his team.

  For McClaren, the result—though a disappointing one for many of the fans that turned out at the National Stadium on Monday night—held immense significance as it not only secured Jamaica’s place in the quarterfinals of the tournament but also guaranteed them a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.

  The Boyz, who entered the contest needing only a point to progress, topped the League A group with eight points, with second-placed Honduras (seven points) also progressing.

  Still, the Englishman, while praising his team’s determination, acknowledged that the performance wasn’t without its challenges.

  

  “The vision was to finish top; we had a bad start to the group, and so I have to give credit to the team for the way they recovered with away wins at Honduras and Nicaragua. Everybody knew there were three teams going for the two top spots, and I think you could see that there was a little nervousness and a lack of willingness to really take the game to Honduras,” McClaren said in a post-game press conference.

  “When you need a draw, the mentality can get in the way, and I think that did. But we said at half-time, we have to be resilient; we have to make sure that we get the result, and the key thing is the result. The key thing is we're top of the league because after the first game against Cuba, we were under pressure in Honduras and Nicaragua, and the Boyz delivered,” he added.

  McClaren, who took over the reins of the team earlier this year, emphasized that while the Reggae Boyz didn’t light up the field with attacking flair and creativity, their resilience and discipline were commendable.

  “It was more like we wanted to control the game, and so we didn't go forward with any tempo, any pace, and there was no speed in the game. But whatever the game was today (Monday), they delivered, and the result was probably more important than the actual performance,” McClaren declared.

  

  “But we can play better. We made too many mistakes, but without the ball, the recovery and determination to keep a clean sheet was good. So credit to everybody for that. Eleven defend, eleven attack…they all did that. We got the result, we topped the league, and we look forward to the draw,” he noted.

  McClaren was quick to underline the importance of this achievement, particularly as the team continues to develop under his leadership.

  His team and Honduras now join Concacaf’s top-ranked teams, United States, Panama, Mexico, and Canada, in the knockout round, with the top two finishers in Group A—to be decided on Tuesday—set to meet them there.

  “I wanted desperately to get into the knockout stage, so we've done it. Credit to the players, we've achieved that, and now we really look forward to the draw and who we get,” the tactician declared.

  He continued: “But I'm just learning so much, and don't get me wrong, I'm making mistakes as well, but I'm learning and the more mistakes I make, the quicker I will learn and I believe we'll get better because we've got good players.

  “Like everything, you're always aiming for consistency, so for me, I'm so pleased about that the players understand what we are trying to implement. We're not doing it fluidly at the present moment, but they understand it. But if you want to get to the World Cup, you're going to have to be able to want the ball, deal with the ball, and be brave on the ball, and that is the mentality that we're looking for."

  

  Meanwhile, Latibeaudiere expressed cautious optimism about Jamaica’s potential in the competition, as he too stressed that there’s still work to be done.

  The Boyz ended third in the last Concacaf Nations League edition after losing their semi-final contest to United States.

  “I think we should be very confident going into the (quarterfinal) games. As a football player, these are the games that you want to play in; you want to play against the top dogs, you want to go and have that challenge and prove yourself, especially from last time. We were so unlucky not to get to the final, and it just shows what we can do as a group, so we should be very confident going into it,” Latibeaudiere reasoned.

  “We need to go back to our clubs now. We need to stay fit and when we come back, we need to come with an open mind and we learn from these camps and we go into that one with that mentality that we're going to go and put our best foot forward. We deserve to be top of the group and so we now have to go over that mentality,” he noted.

• Saint Martin stun Saint Lucia 4-0 in Group B as Haiti remain perfect in Group C of League B

  Haiti extended their unbeaten run with a 5-3 win over Aruba, while Saint Martin stunned Saint Lucia 4-0 as both teams ended the October window on a high in their respective League B Concacaf Nations League groups on Monday.

  Keelan Lebon (8th and 45th), Sacha Barakat (26^th) and Pierre-Bertrand Arne (62nd) did the damage for Saint Martin at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, as they secured their first win of the campaign. Despite the win, Saint Martin remain at the foot of Group B on three points and in danger of being relegated to League C.

  Saint Lucia continue to lead the standings on nine points, followed by Curacao (seven points), who edged third-placed Grenada (four points) 1-0 courtesy of Juninho Bacuna’s 30th-minute strike in the curtain-raiser of the double header.

  Haiti didn’t have things all their way in an eight-goal thriller against Aruba at the Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad.

  Five different scorers, Danley Jean Jacques (16th), Don Louicius (42nd), Duckens Nazon (66th), Fabrice Picault (76th), and Frantzdy Pierrot (89th), got on the scoresheet for Haiti, who have now netted 18 goals, the most of any team in the Nations League.

  They continue to sit pretty atop Group C on maximum 12 points from four games, with a League A promotion well in sight. Aruba, who got their goals from Rovien Ostiana (14th and 20th) and Jayden Kruydenhof (78th), is on the cusp of relegation as they remain pointless.

  Earlier, Puerto Rico, through goals from Gerald Diaz (45^th) and Ricardo Rivera (83rd), registered a 2-1 win over Sint Maarten in the curtain-raiser.

  The win moved Puerto Rico into second on six points, with a slightly better goal-difference to Sint Maarten (six points), whose goal came from Quinton Christina (54th).