Jardel ‘Shortman’ Williams, a promising 20-year-old attacking midfielder, is set to leave Jamaica for Suriname where he will play with Suriname's SV Transvaal. The young talent, who had been one a one-year contract with Jamaica Premier League outfit, Humble Lion FC, has inked a two-year contract with the Surinamese club starting October 1, 2024, and is eager to embark on this new chapter of his football career.
Williams, who represented Camperdown High School during the 2021 Manning Cup season, sees this move as a pivotal moment in his development. "I am really excited to go and play for SV Transvaal," Williams shared with Sportsmax.TV. "Personally, it’s a boost for my career because moving from Humble Lion, this will be good exposure for me, and I am looking to go further in football."
Though excited, the transition comes with its challenges. Williams, who has never been to Suriname and will be living away from his family for the first time, admits to being nervous. "Yes, but I will have to adjust, and I am willing to adjust to make it happen. My immediate goal is to first of all adjust as quickly as possible so that I can help the team with my abilities in the best way I can, and hopefully win the title and more trophies."
SV Transvaal, based in Paramaribo, is one of Suriname’s most decorated football clubs. Established in 1925, the club boasts 19 league championships and two CONCACAF Champions Cup victories, achieved in 1973 and 1981. Williams’ addition to the squad is expected to further bolster their pursuit of more domestic and international success.
Despite the challenges, Williams is focused on his long-term ambitions, which include playing in the English Premier League. A devoted fan of Liverpool FC, he admires the team's counter-attacking style. "The team is filled with great players, and their style of play, counter-attacking football, I like that about Liverpool," he explained. "Eventually, I want to end up in England, and it would be a dream come true to play for Liverpool."
In addition to his club aspirations, Williams hopes to don the national colours of Jamaica someday. "It is every footballer’s dream to represent their country. For me, it would be really, really great to represent Jamaica," he said.
Hailing from Rose Town in Kingston, Williams' journey hasn’t been without its ups and downs. His standout year came in 2021, when he led Camperdown High School to an unbeaten run in the Manning Cup group stage, only for the team to be disqualified after it was deemed to have used an ineligible player. Nevertheless, his performances caught the attention of many, setting the stage for his transition to the professional arena.
With this new opportunity at SV Transvaal, Williams is on the cusp of what he hopes will be the first of many steps toward realizing his football dreams.
Molynes United, Portmore United and Waterhouse all picked up wins in the latest round of the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League on Sunday.
Molynes picked up their first points of the season with a dominant 4-0 win over Chapelton Maroons at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
Honors were even until six minutes before halftime when Jevaughn Brown gave Molynes United the lead.
The scoring was completed in the second half by Mickel Graham (53’, 71’) and Taraj Andrews (86’) as the Kingston-based club secured their first points of the young season.
Elsewhere, a 37th minute strike from Junior Grizelle and a second half stoppage time goal from Shacquwell Henry gave Portmore United a 2-0 win over Vere Phoenix United at Ferdie Neita Park.
In the day’s other games, Atapharoy Bygrave scored just before halftime for Waterhouse in a 1-0 win over Tivoli Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex while Humble Lion and Harbour View played out a 1-1 draw at the Effortville Community Centre.
Oquassa Chong gave Harbour View the lead in the 25th minute before Andre Clennon equalized for Humble Lion in the 67th.
On Monday, defending champions Cavalier SC will take on Dunbeholden at Sabina Park while a double-header at the Montego Bay Sports Complex will see Mount Pleasant facing Racing United before Montego Bay United battles Arnett Gardens.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has announced that on August 31, its First Instance Body, awarded regional licenses to 11 clubs participating in this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL): Arnett Gardens FC, Cavalier SC, Dunbeholden FC, Harbour View FC, Montego Bay United FC, Mount Pleasant FA, Portmore United FC, Racing United FC, Tivoli Gardens FC, Vere United FC and Waterhouse FC participating in this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL).
The remaining 3 clubs - Chapelton Maroons FC, Humble Lion FC and Molynes United FC - received domestic licenses, meaning they will not be eligible for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Caribbean Cup or the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup if they finish in the top three of the JPL standings at the end of the season.
Each club was required to meet the minimum criteria outlined in the 2018 JFF Club Licensing Regulations. This season’s achievement of awarding 11 regional licenses marks a significant increase from last season, when only four clubs – Arnett Gardens FC, Cavalier SC, Harbour View FC and Mount Pleasant FA - received regional licenses.
Club licensing, introduced by FIFA, is a key element in promoting the professionalization of football worldwide. This system is based on principles-driven criteria and establishes minimum standards that clubs must meet to obtain a license and participate in competitions.
The Club Licensing Regulations focus on five key areas: Administration, Sporting, Financial, Infrastructure, and Legal. The goal of these regulations is to standardize and elevate football club management globally.
Carlene Edwards, Chairwoman of the First Instance Body, expressed gratitude for the commitment displayed by the clubs in meeting the requirements.
She stated, “The process was challenging initially, as we needed to review and update clubs simultaneously, ensuring they submitted correct and updated documents while adhering to established deadlines in the Club Licensing Regulations Support Manual. Nevertheless, we remained dedicated to the task and successfully delivered all decisions within the stipulated timeframe. We look forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with the clubs and anticipate achieving 100 percent compliance in delivering regional licenses next season.”
In a statement, Michael Ricketts, President of the Jamaica Football Federation, emphasized the Federation’s commitment to supporting the club licensing process.
He stated, “I am incredibly proud of our clubs for their dedication and hard work in achieving club licensing. This milestone not only reflects their commitment to excellence but also underscores our promise to elevate football in Jamaica. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the First Instance Body for their tireless efforts in ensuring we meet our commitments to CONCACAF. Their diligence in overseeing the licensing process has been crucial in raising the standards of our football community. JFF remains dedicated to empowering our clubs as they strive to excel on both national and regional stages.”
The next category of stakeholders to be on boarded in the Club Licensing process will include the Women’s Premier League teams and the JFF Championship teams.
Defending champions Cavalier got the new Jamaica Premier League season underway with a win against Arnett Gardens FC in an enthralling encounter at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence in Kingston.
Central defender, Jamoi Topey, gave Cavalier the lead in the 60th minute before Chavany Willis got an equaliser that he thought would salvage a draw in the 96th minute.
Cavalier forward Shaniel Thomas had other ideas as he slotted home a right-footed effort in the 97th minute to secure a win and three points for the two-time champions.
The second match on Sunday was also an exciting one between four-time champions Waterhouse FC and Montego Bay United, who have also won the title four times.
Montego Bay United took the lead in the 57th minute through Giovanni Reid before Waterhouse equalised in the 72nd minute through an Andre Fletcher penalty.
Waterhouse completed the comeback in the 81st minute through a goal from Devroy Grey. The action then shifted to Monday, January 17 with two more matches.
Dunbeholden FC and Vere United FC contested the first game with Dunbeholden securing a 2-1 victory.
They took the lead in the eighth minute through an excellent header from Atapharoy Bygrave before Lampard Neil tied things up for Vere in the 57th minute.
Substitute Jahmiel Hardware secured the three points for Dunbeholden with a well-placed free kick in the 92nd minute.
In the second match, goals from Warner Brown in the 42nd minute and Shai Smith in the 87th minute ensured that five-time winners Tivoli Gardens FC and seven-time winners Portmore United FC played out a 1-1 draw.
On Tuesday, four-time champions Harbour View FC and Molynes United FC played out a 2-2 draw thanks to double strikes from Trayvon Reid and Nicholas Nelson.
Nelson gave Molynes United the lead in the 42nd minute before Reid made it 1-1 in the 45th minute.
The 58th minute saw Nelson get his second to give Molynes United a 2-1 lead before Reid once again equalized in the 90th minute to ensure the points were shared.
In the second game on the day, goals from Daniel Green in the 14th and 43rd minutes, as well as strikes from Allan Ottey in the 17th, Ricardo Morris in the 45th, and Donovan Segree in the 90th helped Mount Pleasant FA secure the biggest win of the round, a 5-1 rout of Humble Lion FC.
Cory Hylton got Humble Lion’s consolation goal in the 83rd minute.
The second round of matches kicks off on Saturday.
Tivoli Gardens charged into the Jamaica Premier League playoffs on the back of a brilliant hat-trick by Horatio Morgan in their 4-3 win over Humble Lion in their match at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Morgan, who was scoring for the first time this season, opened the scoring with an overhead kick in the fifth minute and followed up with a thumping header in the 30th minute. Ten minutes later, he curled a beautiful right-footer for his third.
Lorenzo Lewin pulled one back on the stroke of half-time from a corner kick then teed up Andre Clennon for an easy tap home in minute 63. However, Devroy Grey restored Tivoli Gardens’ two-goal cushion after benefitting from a poor pass by Humble Lion’s goalkeeper Keneil Petri in the 85th minute.
It was Grey’s fourth goal of the season and he remained his club’s top scorer.
In time added on, Lewin popped up and slotted home for Humble Lion for his second goal of the match and ensured a nervous finish for Tivoli Gardens.
It was Tivoli Gardens’ fourth win from nine games which saw them jump from seventh to second spot with 16 points. They are level on points with leaders Waterhouse FC but second on goal difference.
The hapless and ageing Humble Lion remained firmly at the bottom of the 11-team league on six points following their eighth defeat from 10 games.
Tivoli Gardens will play Molynes United in their final preliminary round match next week and are fancied to secure a victory that would see them book a top-two spot and direct entry into the semi-finals.
Humble Lion climbed off the bottom of the table with a convincing 2-0 win over Harbour View Sunday and reignited their slim chances of making the Jamaica Premier League playoffs.
Goals from Man of the Match Andrew Vanzie from the penalty spot in 61st minute and substitute Levaughn Williams in the 87th minute propelled the Clarendon-based to just their second win of the season.
Vanzie expertly dispatched the penalty after goalkeeper Akeem Smith was adjudged by referee Kevin Morrison to have fouled Andre Clennon. It was Vanzie’s third goal of the season and his second from the penalty spot.
Then Williams, who replaced Javane Thompson in the 65th minute, sealed the victory when he tapped home from close range with the Harbour View defence all over the place.
It was a most crucial win for Humble Lion as their six points see them climb from 11th to 10th but, more importantly, they are just three points from of a top-six playoff spot.
Holding that last playoff spot is the tumbling Harbour View that lost their third match of the season and is sitting in sixth spot on nine points. With log jam in the middle of the table, the battle for the playoff positions is heating up as even bottom-placed Arnett Gardens on four points are still in contention.
The Clarendon-based Humble Lion, the usual standard-bearers of the parish, has been upstaged by the less established Vere United that sits atop of the Jamaica Premier League with 14 points and has basically already secured a spot into the playoffs.
Vere United, formerly Jamalco FC, has emerged as the top team in Clarendon which was confirmed by their 3-1 win over Humble Lion in the second round.
Andrew Price has stuck with the task and there is now hope for Humble Lion.
It was a very good win over the Stars of the East led by captain Andrew Vanzie, Andre Clennon, Afiba Chambers, Lorenzo Lewin, Leonardo Jibbison and Levaughn Wiliams.
But this could have been different had it not been for some outstanding goalkeeping from Humble Lion’s captain Dennis Taylor who made some important saves throughout the game, especially in the first half when he denied Lennox Russell and top marksman Oquassa Chong on the stroke of half time.
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