In her daily practice and play, Shanae Gordon is used to clutching a ball and outsprinting rivals. In the classroom, the national rugby player is proving how much those qualities are part of her educational habits, by grabbing a scholarship provided by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and run with it to now earn an academic scholarship.

Retired Jamaica international, Jobi McAnuff, has officially called time on his professional career, finally pulling the curtains on a journey that has spanned some 20 seasons.

The 31-year-old midfielder, who spent the final year of his career as player-coach for EFL League Two outfit Leyton Orient, played his final game against Carlise, on May 1, which ended in a 3-2 home defeat for Orient.

McAnuff, who also played 32 games for the Jamaica national team, believes the time had simply come to hang up his boots.

“After 20 seasons and nearly 800 career games, the time has finally come to announce my retirement,” McAnuff said via social media platform Instagram.

“It’s been a tough decision, but my body and mind have finally had enough of the rigours of day-to-day football and I definitely feel now is the right time to hang the boots up,” he added.

“I’ve put in a lot of work over the last few years to make sure I was as prepared as I could be for this day and I look forward confidently and excitedly to the next phase of my professional life.”

Despite having taken over as coach for Orient’s final 16 fixtures, while also playing in midfield, McAnuff will not be continuing on as the team’s coach.  Orient finished in 11^th position.

Jamaica looks set to qualify a men’s 4x100m relay team for the Tokyo Olympics this summer after running the second-fastest time in the world this year at a time trials meet at GC Foster yesterday.

Baylor University’s Ackera Nugent continued her impressive freshman season on Saturday with a pair of wins at the Aggie Invitational at Bryan-College Station in Texas.

Opus, a leading publisher of luxury limited-edition books in sports, film and entertainment, has announced a partnership with Usain Bolt to produce the publication of Bolt – The Opus, a luxury limited edition, capturing iconic Olympic moments and treasured memories of the eight-time Olympic gold medalist and 100m and 200m world record holder.

Bolt - The Opus will honour the achievements of the iconic Jamaican, who is regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time having won eight Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championship gold medals and who continues to inspire young people from all backgrounds, cultures and nations.

In addition, the Bolt Foundation serves to create opportunities through education and cultural development for positive changes to help children live their dreams.

Bolt, who retired in 2017, is also a four-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and the winner of many other awards across the globe.

According to the publishers, The Opus will be the largest and most luxurious celebration of the sport’s greatest icon, measuring 60cm x 40cm, weighing in at 17kg. Over 260 pages printed on luxurious silk paper will celebrate in the most dynamic way, using high definition photography presented in the most unique way like never before.

It will be in a hand-made clamshell presentation case with the release being followed by a limited number of editions that will be personally signed by Usain making it the greatest tribute to Usain Bolt ever.

An excited Bolt said he is eagerly anticipating the release of the publication.

” I was given the Manchester United OPUS as a gift a few years ago and am thrilled to finally have The Official Usain Bolt Opus,” he said.

“I have seen some sample pages already and am excited that it is going to look amazing and capture all the biggest moments in my career.”

The first editions will be ready for release and shipping later this year.

West Ham star forward and potential Jamaica international, Michail Antonio, has declared he is hungry for goals following his return to the team’s line-up on Monday.

The burly forward returned in fine style, banging in two goals against Burnley, which gave the Hammers much-needed impetus in the race for the fourth and final Champions League spot.

Antonio’s power upfront will no doubt give the team renewed confidence heading into the final weeks of the season, and the forward himself admits he is feeling in good shape and looking to make up for the lost time.

"I trained with the boys all week so I was always in contention," Antonio told the club’s official website.

"I didn't know if I'd start or not, but I did, managed to get my two goals, and should have had more,” he added.

"I'll keep moving on to the next game and hopefully score more goals."

Antonio did, however, miss out on the perfect opportunity to secure a hat-trick after being gifted a golden chance to make it three when a Pablo Fornals shot fell to him just yards from goal, but the striker got the ball stuck under his feet with the goal gaping.

"It wasn't my day to get the hat-trick, but I got my two, and I can't be greedy."

Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz will play two international friendlies against Nigeria and the United States in June as the team begins preparations for the 2023 World Cup qualifiers that are scheduled to begin in November 2021.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has cautioned any players, officials or referees who take part in an illegally organised youth competition that they could face possible sanctions.

A fixture list for a competition, which features several youth academy teams, that was scheduled to take place from May 1 to June 13, has come to light in recent days.  The teams listed on the flyer included Phoenix Academy, Kickers Academy, Baptist Alliance Academy, Pembroke Elite, Irvin Youth Academy, Aptitude Academy, and LAX.

The competition venue listed was the Mona High school, which is the training base of Phoenix Academy.  The JFF, who is the only body capable of sanctioning official club competitions across the island, has made it clear it has given no permission for the event to be staged and demanded its immediate termination.

The JFF themselves have not received permission to resume competition on the island by the Jamaican government, based on the existing COVID-19 protocols.

“No permission has been granted for any tournament to go ahead, and all players, coaches and other individuals associated with any tournament do so illegally under the country’s disaster preparedness laws,” a release issued by the JFF read.

“The JFF is therefore mandating all concerned with any tournament, youth or adult, to cease and desist all activities. Anybody found to be involved in any new activity will face the full force of the laws of the federation and will be reported to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management for their attention.”

For the second week in a row, Natoya Goule ran a time in the 400m that is giving her cause to be optimistic about the season ahead.

Jamaica’s Rugby League team is set to face Greece in October just ahead of the start of the Rugby League World Cup later this year.

After the high of Saturday’s victory over three-time champion Johan Kristofferson, Jamaica’s Fraser McConnell had to settle for third place in today’s (May 2) round of competition at the 2021 RallyX Nordic Supercar competition in Denmark.

West forward and potential Jamaica target Michail Antonio has reportedly recovered from injury ahead of schedule and could take part in the team's match against Burnley on Monday.

The 31-year-old has not played for the Hammers since sustaining a hamstring injury in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in early April.  The knock was a huge blow for West Ham who have seen their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish go off the boil in recent weeks.

At current, the Hammers sit four points behind Chelsea in a race for the fourth and final Champions League spot.

“He is working with the physios and on the grass,” Moyes said of Antonio.

“I wouldn’t rule him out yet, but I don’t want to rule him in either. Let’s hope that he’s got a chance.

The news will also be welcomed by the Jamaica national team, who will be hoping the forward joins its ranks at the end of the Premier League campaign.  Antonio is one of several players England-born players who have opted to change international allegiance from England to Jamaica in recent months.  The players are expected to join up with the squad ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament in July.

Regional sports broadcasters SportsMax has thrown its support behind the social media blackout campaign, geared towards raising awareness of the need to combat the presence of rampant racism and hate speech online.

The issue has been a sore spot for fans and players around the world in recent years, with players often facing death threats and racial abuse on various social media platforms, particularly after strong or disappointing performances.

Last month, two Jamaica internationals, Jamal Lowe of Swansea and Reading’s Liam Moore were subject to racial abuse online.  Swansea, in support of the player, announced a weeklong boycott of social media platforms with Championship rivals Birmingham City and Scottish champions Rangers following their lead.  The initiative has since gained steam with others announcing similar decisions.  The companies full statement is listed below.

SportsMax makes a bold move to join governing bodies across the United Kingdom and other organizations including the FA, Premier League, EFL, FA Women's Super League, FA Women's Championship, Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), The Scottish FA, Scottish Professional Football League, Scottish Women's Football among others and fellow sports broadcasters in an initiative to combat widespread abuse and discrimination by not posting on social media this weekend, the suspension is scheduled from 3 pm on Friday, April 30 to 11:59 pm on Monday, May 3.

 SportsMax will not post any sports content to its social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for the duration of the boycott period but instead followers will see a slate encouraging acceptance and inclusiveness for all.

 “As the leading sports channel for topflight international sports in the Caribbean, SportsMax is not naïve to the vitriolic tone that some people use, especially on social media where they can hide behind anonymity and spew abuse without fear of accountability. We want to let it be known that this is not ok and it will not be tolerated, we stand with the UK sporting fraternity and all who will participate this weekend.” SportsMax CEO, Oliver McIntosh said.

 Sports fans can still get all their sports news, updates, and of course live action all weekend long on the SportsMax channels and the SportsMax App and website (www.sportsmax.com).

 We invite the various sporting fraternities, organizations, corporate entities, and sports fans around the Caribbean to join us as we unite and take a stance to make a difference and be the change we wish to see.

Former West Indies spinner and Jamaica captain, Nehemiah Perry, has called on delegates of his home country to put the interest of the sport first and not pursue what he described as a ‘separate agenda’ than wanting the best for the game.

Although an election date is yet to set, Jamaica Cricket Association president (JCA) Wilford Billy Heaven is expected to run unopposed for a fourth two-year team when the annual general meeting is held. 

He has successfully held off two challenges, winning by only four votes on the last occasion, but many in the country’s local cricketing circles believe he would still emerge victorious if confronted by any opposition in the 2021 election.

Perry, however, sees the continued re-election of the official and his slate, unchallenged, or being re-elected by big margins as incongruous when juxtaposed against the current state of the game on the island.

“I think we definitely need change.  I cannot understand why it is that we have not won anything over the years, we have been last, second to last, we’ve only won one trophy out of 30-odd, and at the end of the day the administration is winning by a landslide,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“Something is wrong if people keep voting for persons who are not delivering.  I don’t believe you should be there because at the end of the day we need positive results.  We need the team to be doing well, we need to produce a lot of Test cricketers and a lot of first-class cricketers,” he added.

“I’m not only saying Billy Heaven should be removed but that the delegates who continue to vote for a particular board need to examine themselves.  At the end of the day, if cricket is what you are really there for and you are not getting the results then why is it that you continue to put those persons to lead.  You don’t have the cricket at heart, somehow you have some sort of agenda.”  

Reggae Girlz striker Khadijah Shaw could be making a move to England next season based on reports that she is to sign with Manchester City.