The Jamaica Lacrosse Association (JLA) continues to create milestones and recently, its national team became the first team to qualify for the 2023 World Championships which will be held in San Diego, California.
In securing this achievement, the Jamaican sport ambassadors scored victories over Columbia 7 - 2 and the US Virgin Islands 5 - 4 and now stand a real chance of topping the table in the competition currently underway in Medellin, Colombia.
In commending JLA President, Calbert Hutchinson and the team, Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda stated that "our member association continues to personify merit in sport and is inspiring its players to go beyond the call of duty in the national colors which is the essence of patriotism and a compelling attribute which all sportsmen and women should have."
The sport of Lacrosse locally is quickly gaining ascendancy which mirrors its growing popularity globally and is providing many opportunities for our youth engaged in competitive sport.
"A primary focus of the JOA is to broaden the options in sport for our youth and create as many opportunities for them to excel on the field of play in self-actualising while motivating them to earn a value-based education that will be their pension after sport. Lacrosse is raising the bar impressively and is taking ownership and passing the shuttle and not the buck'" Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster said.
The sport was contested at the Summer Olympics Games in 1904 and 1908 and played as an exhibition sport in 1928, 1932 and 1948 and the JOA supports the growing advocacy to have the sport make a long-awaited re-appearance in 2028 in Los Angeles.
"The calls for the sport's rebirth in Los Angeles are resonating and fittingly so after being absent for almost a century. If the echoes of history don't compel it, then the voices of the present will" President Samuda said.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
Samuda empathizes with Comm Games Federation over scaled-down 2026 event; urges possible compensation for excluded sports
Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president, Christopher Samuda, has expressed understanding and empathy toward the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) as they face the challenge of hosting a scaled-down version of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
With the event, traditionally a grand celebration of sport, culture, and unity, being reduced in size due to economic pressures, Samuda acknowledges the difficulties facing the CGF while also stressing the need to find ways to address the impact this decision will have on several sports that have been cut from the programme.
Diving, rugby, squash, badminton, table tennis, hockey, triathlon, and cricket are among the sports that will not feature in the 2026 edition.
The CGF initially struggled to find a host after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year, before Glasgow, known for its rich sporting history as a host city—including hosting the 2014 edition of the game—stepped in to save the 2026 Games. However, this comes with the reality of hosting a more compact edition than previous iterations.
For Samuda, the situation is an unfortunate but understandable outcome in a global landscape.
“The circumstances in which the Commonwealth Games Federation unavoidably found itself inevitably led to a scaled-down edition of the games. I regret the exclusion of badminton, table tennis, squash, and hockey; for those sports, the Jamaica Olympic Association has earmarked for real transitioning. The CGF’s decision was clearly influenced by commercial factors and the economy of a diminished sporting agenda, for at the end of the day, the games must be viable to ensure sustainability,” Samuda said.
However, Samuda also noted that the decision to reduce the scope of the Games, which will see several sports omitted from the 2026 programme, raises important questions about the future of those disciplines within the Commonwealth sporting family.
He argued that the CGF must find ways to compensate the sports that have been excluded, as they are integral to the diversity and spirit of the Commonwealth Games.
“Going forward, however, the CGF has to develop a strategy that will compensate those sports that are being excluded so as not to lose the interest and confidence of their international federations, commercial partners, and most importantly, the players and athletes for whom sports exist,” he reasoned.
Despite the current challenges, Samuda remains optimistic about the future of the Commonwealth Games and the role it plays in uniting nations through sport. He sees the 2026 edition in Glasgow as an opportunity to innovate and adapt, ensuring that the Games remain relevant in a changing world.
The Games will feature a 10-sport programme across four venues within an eight-mile corridor, with more than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
Athletics and swimming are included as compulsory sports for 2026, while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls, and 3x3 basketball.
“It is critical that the next games, while being an economic reinvention, should retain that unique traditional value that has given many sports and invaluable space on the Commonwealth sporting agenda and which have made it competitive as a sporting and commercial product amidst growing competition for the partnership dollar and public viewership and appeal,” Samuda said.
JOA taking the lead in Sport Education
The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) continues to put training and education at the centre of sport development.
Through the Advanced Sports Management Course (ASMC), a partnership with Olympic Solidarity, and its own activation “Stamina,” the JOA offers stakeholders a curriculum of practical and comprehensive principles and best practices.
Ethics, business, law, finance, brand and marketing, human resource development, science and information technology merge with other subjects in providing an inter-disciplinary menu in sport education.
The JOA directors are taking the lead and continuing to share their professional competencies and experience as well success models with sport leaders in the ASMC, another edition of which will begin later this year.
JOA President, Christopher Samuda, a prominent Attorney-at-Law and an executive board member of regional sport organisations, will construct for participants a successful sport association within a constitutional and legal framework.
JOA Secretary General and CEO, Ryan Foster, will share the breadth of his expertise as a noted and well-respected Chartered Accountant and his experience as chairman of regional sport Finance Commissions in underscoring the importance of financial literacy, competence, planning, accountability, transparency and viability.
Treasurer of the apex governing body, Nichole Case, who is the Divisional Chief Information Officer for the GraceKennedy Financial Group, brings to the table her corporate credentials and know-how in information systems and technology in outlining industry policies and practices for the benefit of sport associations while established businessman and CEO of Mayberry Investments Limited, Gary Peart, will provide invaluable business principles and strategies as indispensable elements of successful sport entities.
The JOA’s clear policy of investing in training and education is geared towards creating a knowledge-based sector as a prerequisite of a sport industry. Secretary General Foster summarizes the philosophy and approach of the national institution. “You can’t create if you don’t educate. You can’t be the best if you don’t invest and we, the JOA, believe that to succeed we must take the lead” he said.
The ASMC is an internationally recognised and intense six-month educational programme covering, in depth, critical aspects of sport administration. “It’s not a talkfest but an edu-sport multi-disciplinary test” President Samuda remarked.
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