Fans can expect a “strong, fast, fierce and fit competition” according to Rugby Americas North Communication Manager Bryan Kelly as the July 14-17 tournament prepares to get underway at the UWI Mona Bowl in Kingston.
Kelly, in an interview with Sportsmax.TV, described the event as a development tournament.
“This is the first Rugby Americas tournament since 2019 so this event that we’re throwing this week is a development competition. In Rugby there’s two different versions of the sport. There’s Rugby 7s which they play in the Olympics and Rugby 15s which is a much longer game and the one we’ll be playing this week in Jamaica,” he said.
“We have our men’s U-19 tournament and this is the first taste of international competition that a lot of these players will have and, for the women, it’s their first time playing since 2019 and, as I said, this is 15s Rugby but because our region is still growing and we’re trying to get the Rugby ball into as many female hands as possible, they’re playing 12s which is three less players,” Kelly added.
Even with this fact, Kelly says teams will still play as hard as possible.
“Yes, this is a development tournament and yes, this is a lot of these athletes first time getting on the field in a couple of years but you will not see teams playing casually. It’s going to be a strong, fast, fit and fierce competition for all four days this week,” Kelly said.
The men’s U-19 tournament will be contested by hosts Jamaica, Mexico, USA South, Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda and Cayman Islands while the Women’s seniors will have Jamaica, USA South, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Cayman Islands.
Matches will be streamed live on the Sportsmax.TV YouTube Channel beginning on Thursday at 9:00am Jamaica Time (10:00am EST).
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Elaine Thompson-Herah set for season debut at USATF Bermuda Grand Prix
Excitement is mounting in Bermuda as double-double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah is set to make her season debut at the upcoming USATF Bermuda Grand Prix on Sunday, April 28. Thompson-Herah, who trains under Coach Reynaldo Walcott at Elite Performance in Kingston, Jamaica, arrives as the reigning fastest woman alive after clocking a stunning 10.54 seconds in the 100m in Oregon in August 2021.
Thompson-Herah made history at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by claiming gold in the 100m and 200m events, becoming the only woman ever to achieve this remarkable feat. Her dominance extended to the relay events, where she secured gold in the 4x100m relay in Tokyo, joining the elite company of Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner in completing a triple clean sweep of sprint medals at the Olympics.
Anticipation is palpable among Bermuda's Jamaican community, with Yackeisha Weir, president of the Jamaican Association of Bermuda (JAB), expecting a strong showing of support for Thompson-Herah at the Flora Duffy Stadium. Weir emphasized the significance of Thompson-Herah's presence, particularly with the upcoming Paris Olympics on the horizon.
"The anticipation is high this year, especially as we have the fastest woman alive competing," said Weir in an interview with BerNews. "With the Olympic Games taking place this summer, Bermuda has a chance to see a preview of Paris. It’s an honour to have Elaine on the island."
The USATF Bermuda Grand Prix, slated to be broadcast live on NBC from 5 pm to 7 pm, promises to be a thrilling showcase of world-class athletics, with Elaine Thompson-Herah headlining a star-studded lineup.
Charles finishes with 13 wickets in the match as Red Force demolish Scorpions by an innings and 125 runs on day three at Sabina Park
Bryan Charles finished with 13 wickets in the match as the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force ended their 2024 West Indies Championship season with an innings and 125 run thrashing of the Jamaica Scorpions on day three at Sabina Park.
The Scorpions entered Friday 159-9 in their first innings, trailing the Red Force by 273 runs. The final pair of Jeavor Royal and Andrae Dennis further 30 before being bowled out in the 64th over of the innings.
The Red Force then asked the hosts to follow on before dismissing them for 118 in just 44.4 overs to complete a dominant win.
Opener Javaughn Buchanan was the only Scorpions batsman to offer any kind of resistance with a 95-ball 33 as Bryan Charles was, once again, the pick of the Red Force bowling, ripping through the Jamaican batting on his way to figures of 7-43 from 13.4 overs to finish with a match haul of 13-125.
Debutant Navin Bidaisee took 2-20 from six overs in support.
Full Scores: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 432 all out in 122 overs (Joshua Da Silva 106, Terrance Hinds 79, Amir Jangoo 51, Kjorn Ottley 45, Khary Pierre 43, Jeavor Royal 3-113, Ojay Shields 2-61, Peat Salmon 2-83)
Jamaica Scorpions 189 all out in 63.4 overs (Kirk McKenzie 57, Jeavor Royal 46, Bryan Charles 6-82, Khary Pierre 3-57) & 118 all out in 44.4 overs (Javaughn Buchanan 33, Bryan Charles 7-43, Navin Bidaisee 2-20).
Reggae Boyz to host Dominican Republic at National Stadium on June 6 to open second round of 2026 World Cup Qualifying
Jamaica will open the second round of 2026 World Cup Qualifying on June 6 when they host the Dominican Republic at the National Stadium in Kingston.
The team will then travel to Dominica to play their second game on June 9 to complete the first two rounds of matchdays in the second round.
The other teams involved in Group E are Guatemala and the British Virgin Islands, who won a two-legged playoff against the US Virgin Islands to secure their spot.
The other two matchdays will be played in June 2025.
The announcement was made by Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts at the federation’s official launch of Jamaica’s World Cup Qualifying campaign on Thursday.
“The size of your rear view mirror is so very small compared to the big mirror in front of you. The JFF has no intention of using our rear view mirror. We’re not going to engage anybody in anything that would have been the past. The big picture now is ahead of us,” said Ricketts.
Ricketts also spoke on a qualifying process that will see the Reggae Boyz not having to contend with regional powerhouses the USA, Mexico and Canada.
“A lot of people have said that it is going to be easy but we still have to work as hard as we can,” he said.
“We don’t want to drop the ball here and this was why we engaged coach Hallgrimsson. We understand the importance of the development program that will take us past 2026. We want to leave a legacy at the JFF,” he added.
With hosts Mexico, United States and Canada, all earning automatic qualification, the qualifiers will be contested among the other 32 FIFA affiliated Concacaf member associations. The second round of qualifiers will see the two first round winners, joining the confederation's remaining 28 participating member associations.
Following single round-robin matches (two home and two away) in the second round, the six group winners and runners-up will progress to the final round (12 teams total).
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