Professional Football Jamaica promises a booming start to the 2022-23 Jamaica Premier League season as powerhouse rivals Waterhouse and Arnett Gardens are set to clas in the "BOOM El Clasico".

The "BOOM El Clasico" will see the JPL giants square off over two legs of football slated for October 10 and 17 at Waterhouse Stadium and Tony Spaulding Sports Complex, respectively.

Each club will be allowed to field celebrities as a nod to their communities that have produced some musical giants over decades. Arnett Gardens and Waterhouse's long-standing rivalry attracts the largest spectator following in local football.

Title sponsors BOOM Energy Drink have sweetened the pot with a winner-takes-all prize payout of $JMD1M.

Brand Manager Keteisha McHugh looks forward to welcoming fans,

"BOOM has taken the market by storm, becoming the number-one energy drink in Jamaica. We are the life of any party, so we look forward to bringing our usual high energy to match the excitement of Waterhouse and Arnett Gardens in October. Come October 17, we will find out who's ‘Badda dan’ so come mek we BOOM it up!" said BOOM Brand Manager Keteisha McHugh.

In reacting to the announcement PFJL Chairman Chris Williams said the partnership reflects the significant growth of Jamaica’s football.

“Football is booming in Jamaica,” he said.

“BOOM has joined with the PFJL in continuing the tremendous growth of professional football in Jamaica. BOOM will be answering the question we all have. Who is better; Arnett or Waterhouse? We expect a massive turnout, great football and loads of excitement from this intense rivalry.”

The Jamaica Premier League 2021-22 season culminated last Sunday with newly-crowned champions Harbour View getting the better of Dunbeholden 6-5 on penalties to secure their fifth premier league title.

The Jamaica Tallawahs have announced their overseas signings for the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which gets underway on 31 August.

Left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir will be joining the Tallawahs for the first time having represented the Barbados Royals last season, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 13.54.

The other four overseas players have all had experience with the Tallawahs in the past. Nepalese leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was with the franchise in 2020 where he took 12 wickets and went at an economy rate of just 5.27 runs an over.

Imad Wasim, Chris Green and Miguel Pretorius were all with the Tallawahs in 2021 and will return this season as overseas signings. Brandon King and Fabian Allen have also been signed by the two-time champions.

Power hitter Rovman Powell has been retained by the franchise along with Kennar Lewis and Shamarh Brooks.

The Tallawahs will have seven more spots to fill at the Hero CPL draft with details of these picks released during the draft show which will be broadcast this Thursday – 7 July – at 9am Eastern Caribbean Time.

Jamaica Reggae Girlz goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer expressed satisfaction with the strength of the team’s overall performance in an opening day win over hosts Mexico in the Concacaf Women's Championship.

Mainstay forward Khadijah Shaw got the all-important goal in the 8^th minute, but Spencer made an equally telling impact between the sticks for the team.  The goalkeeper proved to be an assured presence in controlling the area and also proved highly effective with her distribution ability.

In addition, the custodian’s acrobatic save from Mexico’s Carolina Jaramillo not only kept the Jamaicans in front but might be one of the best of the tournament so far.

“It was all about the team yesterday.  I think from front to back and obviously, the subs also came on and made a big impact in the game. So, yesterday was a real team performance,” Spencer said.

“I thought the game was good it was a really good team performance.  Scoring early on and to have the lead so long was certainly a big one for us,” she added.

The appearance was Spencer’s fifth for the national team.  The Jamaicans will next be in action against the United States on Thursday.

Reggae Girlz coach Lorne Donaldson has commended the team’s work ethic and fighting spirit in an important 1-0 over hosts Mexico to kickstart the Concacaf Women’s Championships on Monday.

The team’s talismanic strike Khadija Shaw got the decisive goal in the 8^th minute and secured all three points, which could yet prove telling in the competition’s group of death.

With the top-seeded United States and Haiti still to come, in the competitive group A, maximum points was a welcome start for the Jamaica team who have not had the smoothest build-up to the tournament.

“We came into this game without even playing a practice game, but we went to Colorado and we trained a bit,” Donaldson said.

“I’m very proud of the girls, proud of the way we fought all night and I think the training we did in preparation helped.  I’m very proud of the girls, I give them all the credit, I just stand on the sideline and point my fingers and they do all the work.”

The Jamaicans will next be in action on Thursday when they tackle the world’s top-ranked women’s team The United States.

The second match of Day 1 in Group A action at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, played on Monday at the Estadio Universitario, saw Jamaica down host nation Mexico 1-0.

Jamaica got their goal early from Khadija Shaw in the 8’ via a free kick by Deneisha Blackwood, with the ball finding Shaw and the forward scoring with a header to open the Jamaican goal count in the CWC. With this goal, Shaw ties Jody Brown for most CWC goals by a Jamaican player with four.

Mexico looked to respond and in the 15’ Diana Ordonez almost equalized the game with a header but was denied by the goalpost. 

Jamaica GK Rebecca Spencer came up with a big save in the 28’ by denying Carolina Jaramillo a goal after she tried a long-distance shot, resulting in a corner kick that the Mexican side didn’t take advantage of. 

In the 35’, after a VAR review, the referee ruled in favor of a penalty for Jamaica after Mexico’s Casandra Montero committed a handball in the area. Havana Solaun was the one who took the ball, missing the chance of extending the Jamaica advantage by sending it over the crossbar. 

They were more chances starting in the second half, as Shaw tried to surprise the Mexican front again, but was denied the 2-0 lead by the goalpost. Ordonez, in the 54’, had the equalizer again, but barely missed a header that would have been an assist by Bianca Sierra. 

Mexico kept pushing as Joseline Montoya, subbed on in the 80’, put a ball in the area but the Jamaican defense were there, ready to cover it.

With this result, Jamaica earned their first win over Mexico in a CWC match, making their overall record 1W-0D-3L.

The next opportunity for Mexico will be against Haiti, while Jamaica's next challenge will be against the United States.  

Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson says his team is ready to go ahead of their Concacaf Women’s Championship final round opener against Mexico on Monday.

Jamaica and Mexico are in Group A of the final round along with Haiti and the United States while Group B contains Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago.

The four semi-finalists after the group stage will advance to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“I think, if we have everybody healthy and ready to go, we will give a good account of ourselves. The girls will come out and be ready to play. The first few minutes may be a little rusty because they haven’t played a game in a while but, when the game settles down, I think we can put some good stuff together,” Donaldson said in a pre-match interview on Sunday.

The match will be played at the University Stadium in Nueva Leon, home of the Liga MX club Tigres UANL, with kick-off scheduled for 9:00pm Jamaica time (10:00pm EST).

The Jamaicans, who spent the last two weeks in training camp in Denver, Colorado, know what to expect in enemy territory according to their head coach.

“Obviously, we play Mexico who’s the home team. They’ll have a lot of fans in the stadium and we know what to expect. Hopefully the preparation we’ve had can nullify some of their strengths,” said Donaldson.

“It’s going to be a difficult game but hopefully we can grind and battle through it so the result can fall in our favor,” he added.

Both teams come into this game on the back of some good form as the Reggae Girlz have scored 24 goals and conceded just two in their last four games while Mexico have scored 25 and conceded just one.

Jamaica’s U-23 Sunshine Girls secured Netball gold at the inaugural Caribbean Games at the Laurel Flessel Complex in Guadeloupe on Saturday.

The Jamaicans capped off an unbeaten campaign with a 55-21 victory over Trinidad & Tobago in the gold medal game.

St. Lucia took home the bronze medal with an 88-4 demolition of hosts Guadeloupe.

Several members of Jamaica’s history-making team to the 34th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship in Puerto Rico returned to the island with their trophies on Friday night.

Andrenette Knight, Rasheed Dwyer and Chanice Porter were among the winners at the American Track League meeting in Marietta, Georgia on Saturday. There were also podium places for quarter-milers Rusheen McDonald, Demish Gaye as well as shot putter O’Dayne Richards.

Jhaniele Fowler scored 58 goals on Sunday to lead the West Coast Fever to the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball title following a keenly contested 70-59 victory over the Melbourne Vixens at the RAC Arena.

It was the Fever’s first league title in 25 years after losing in the finals in 2018 and 2020.

Fowler, who was recently appointed captain of Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls, missed one shot and got support from finals MVP Sasha Glasgow, who shot a perfect four for four from the field but who also hit four of her nine super shots. She also had 26 goal assists.

The Fever never trailed at the intervals having led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter and took a six-point lead (35-29) into half-time.

By the end of the third quarter, the Fever extended the lead to nine points after winning the interval 19-16 before closing out the championship outscoring their opponents 16-14 in the final stanza.

Mwai Kemwenda was outstanding for the Vixens scoring 28 of her 29 attempts while Keira Austin missed only two of her 19 shots during the contest.

The victory, which gave Fowler her first hold on the Super League title, capped another outstanding season for the four-time Fever MVP. Heading into the final, Fowler led the league in scoring – 804 goals, goal attempts (833), offensive rebounds (46) and Nissan Net Points (1438).

Jamaica’s Under-23 Sunshine Girls secured a 64-34 victory over Barbados to move to 4-0 at the Caribbean Games at the Laura Flessel Complex in Guadeloupe on Saturday.

Jamaica, who scored a massive 65-18 win over St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Friday, will play Trinidad & Tobago in their final game on Sunday.

T&T hammered Guadeloupe 112-5 on Friday before losing a nail-biter 38-37 against St. Lucia on Saturday.

St. Lucia, after suffering a 44-36 defeat at the hands of Barbados on Friday, were dominant on Saturday with a 20-0 win over Guadeloupe.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville lead a strong 64-member Jamaica team named to compete at the 2022 World Athletics Championships from July 15-24, 2022. Also included as first-timers are 800m champion Navasky Anderson and Adelle Tracey, who will compete in both 800 and 1500m.

Tracey, an American-born middle distance runner, who also represented Great Britain, recently received her official status as a Jamaican athlete. Tracey, who spent a part of her early childhood in the parish of Manchester, will join newly crowned national champion Chrisann Gordon Powell and eight-time national champion Natoya Goule in the 800m.

Meanwhile, Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah, Jackson and Kemba Nelson, will contest the 100m with Briana Williams listed as an alternate. Fraser-Pryce, Jackson and Thompson-Herah will take on the 200m with Natalliah Whyte named as the alternate.

Seville, Blake and Ackeem Blake will run in the 100m. Jelani Walker is listed as the alternate. However, Andrew Hudson, who won the 200m at Jamaica’s national championships last weekend misses out as he remains ineligible to compete for Jamaica until July 28, four days after the championships end in Eugene, Oregon.

In his stead, Akeem Bloomfield will compete in the 200m alongside Rasheed Dwyer and Yohan Blake.

Candice McLeod, Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Charokee Young will compete in the 400m with Stacey-Ann Williams named as the alternate. Jevaughn Powell, Nathon Allen and Christopher Taylor will take on the men’s event.

Demisha Roswell, the fastest Jamaican woman over 100m hurdles this year, is named as an alternate to national champion Britany Anderson, Megan Tapper and Danielle Williams. Damion Thomas is the alternate in the 110m hurdles that will be represented by Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, Rasheed Broadbell and Orlando Bennett.

There is also good news for Andrenette Knight, the fastest Jamaican woman over the 400m hurdles this year. Knight, who has run 53.39 this season, is the alternate in the event that Janieve Russell, Shian Salmon and Rushell Clayton will compete in at the championships.

For the first time ever, Jamaica will have two female high jumpers at a world championship as NCAA champion Lamara Distin and Kimberly Williamson, were both selected.

Chanice Porter has been selected for the long jump while defending champion Tajay Gayle has been selected along with NCAA champion Wayne Pinnock. Gayle injured his knee at the national championships and is in a race against time to prove his fitness.

Shanieka Ricketts, Kimberly Williams and Ackelia Smith will represent Jamaica in the triple jump while Jordan Scott will compete in the men’s event.

Danielle Thomas-Dodd and Lloydricia Cameron will contest the shot put for women. Samantha Hall competes in the discus while national champion Traves Smikle, world championship silver medallist Fedrick Dacres, and Chad Wright are set to compete among the men.

Jamaica will field strong 4x100m relay squads at the championships as Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah, Jackon and Nelson will form the core of the team along with Olympic gold medallist Williams and Remona Burchell.

The men’s squad is comprised of Blake, Blake, Seville, Jelani Walker, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Conroy Jones.

The 4x400m squads will be comprised of McLeod, Young, McPherson, Williams, Roneisha McGregor and Natalliah Whyte while the men’s squad will include Powell, Allen, Taylor, Karayme Bartley, Javon Francis and Anthony Cox.

Junelle Bromfield, Tiffany James, Akeem Bloomfield and St Jago High School runner Gregory Prince will form the mixed relay team.

Sprintec head coach Maurice Wilson has been appointed technical director of the contingent and he will have Paul Francis, Bertland Cameron, Lennox Graham, Julian Robinson, Marlon Gayle, Reynaldo Walcott, Lamar Richards and Gregory Little as his team of coaches.

American-born Andrew Hudson will not be able to represent Jamaica at the upcoming World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, despite winning the 200m event at the Jamaica National Championships.

Hudson stunned onlookers at the country’s national trials after finishing ahead of pre-race favourite and 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake, with Nigel Ellis finishing in third place.

Hudson was one of three athletes who applied to the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association to switch allegiance and were approved to compete at the championships.  The JAAA was optimistic regarding the athlete being given clearance to represent the country before the World Championships in Oregon. 

According to a release, however, the athletes will not receive clearance in time for the games.  Hudson will as a result not be eligible to compete for Jamaica until July 28th and has been replaced by fourth-place finisher Akeem Bloomfield in the 200m.  The JAAA also released the rest of the squad.

The torrential downpours at intervals may have tested the players' resolve, but it was a case of all's well that ends well, particularly for hosts Puerto Rico, who maximised their familiarity to take top team honours ahead of the Dominican Republic and scored several category wins as well. Jamaica captured third place overall.

In the senior boys (18 and under) Kurt Rivers of Turks & Caicos (with a three-Round aggregate of 226 foiled what would otherwise have been a sweep for the hosts, as Kelvin Hernandez, with a total of 210, led the 1-2 tandem ahead of compatriot Gustavo Rangel (222).

For the senior girls, it was a "case of the two Emilys" with Jamaica's Emily Mayne tying for first place with Barbadian Emily Odwin. Mayne's 2nd round 1 under par 70 was enough to ensure both golfers finished the 3 Round with the same aggregate score (224). Holly McLean of the Cayman Islands was just one stroke back, with 225.

There was better news for the Caymans in Boys 15 & under the action, and Danny Lyne, with an aggregate of 226 overcame early leader Huerta of the Dominican Republic to claim too honors. Huerta, with 230, finished third behind Puerto Rico's Hector Boria (227).

In the 15 & Under Girls, Jamaica's Samantha Azan, with 231 finished just ahead of Mattea Issa of Jamaica and the Puerto Rican pair Victoria Rivera and Krishny Erwin, for a three-way tie at 232.

Another Puerto Rican pair topped the Boys 13 & under age group on the leaderboard. Evan Peña in lead was followed by a tie between Fernando Leduc and Aidan Gorospe of the Bahamas.

The honours for the Girls 13 & under were basically a runaway for Ava Saavedra of Puerto Rico, with her compatriot Naomi Muniz finishing third behind Maria Fernandez of the Dominican Republic.

Spirits were high at day's end going into the trophy presentations, with the consensus being that this had been among the more competitive and evenly contested Junior Tournament for some time.

Congratulations to all winners, team members and all involved. Anticipation is already high for the 2023 CAJGC in the Cayman Islands.

Samantha Azan and Emily Mayne closed the championship on top of their respective age groups but Jamaica fell short of the team title at the 34^th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships that ended on Thursday.

Azan won the 15 & Under category while Mayne was tied for first place in the 18 & Under categories.

Azan led on day one, dropped to third on day two but bounced back to win outright on the final day by just one stroke ahead of the day-two leader Mattea Issa.  Issa was tied for second with Victoria Rivera and Elvin Krishny of Puerto Rico.

Azsan shot a six over par 78 for a three-day total of 231 while Issa posted her worst score of the competition of nine over par 81 to end on 232.

Mayne enjoyed a good tournament, moving from third on day one to first on day two. Her final day score of 80 saw her end with a three-day total of 11 over par 224, tied with Emily Odwin of Barbados. Meanwhile, Eryn Blakely maintained her second-day position of seventh place after she scored 80 to close the championship on 251.

Alessandra Coe was Jamaica's lone female in the 13 & Under category.  She finished in eighth place with scores of 103, 99 and 106 for a combined total of 308.  Ava Saavedra of Puerto Rico won the category after posting an overall score of 237.

The results of the female golfers are significant as it is the first time any female was winning any of the age group categories.  The coaches, Jason Lopez and Jonathan Newnham, who won an age group category as a player, as well as team manager Alison Reid, were extremely proud of their performances.

Ryan Lue was the best-placed Jamaican male.  He competed in the 15 & Under category and closed the championship with a score of 239, good for fourth place.

Aaron Gosh scored 167 for 10th place while Lek Drummond was tied for 14th place with Camdyn Forbes of the Bahamas on 275.

The 15 & Under category winner was Danny Lyne of the Cayman Islands after scoring 76 on the final day with a combined total of 13 over par 236.

Rocco Lopez ended eighth in the 18 & Under category.  He scored 234 over the three days.  Trey Williams came 10th with 241 while Aman Dhiman was tied for 14th on 244.  Alexander Dupuch of the Bahamas posted the same three-day total.

The 18 & Under category went to Kelvin Hernandez of Puerto Rico with scores of 73, 68 and 69 for a combined total of three under par 210.

The final male age group of 13 & Under went to Evan Pena of Puerto Rico who led on all three days.  He posted scores of 73, 74, and 81 for a combined total of 15 over par 228.  The two Jamaicans - Kemari Morris 269 and Shasa Fedlefsen 272 were eighth and ninth respectively.