Dennis Chung, the JFF’s general secretary, announced that the technical committee will start interviewing candidates for the new head coach position within a week. (PHOTO: Marlon Reid),
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has announced that a new head coach will be appointed in time for the Concacaf Nations League match between Jamaica and Cuba on September 6 at the National Stadium.
This follows the resignation of Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who stepped down after nearly two years in charge of the Reggae Boyz. Hallgrimsson’s tenure ended following a disappointing campaign at the 2024 Copa America, where Jamaica failed to secure any points.
Hallgrimsson’s final match was a 3-0 loss to Venezuela on June 30 in Austin, Texas. Over the three Copa America matches, Jamaica scored just one goal and conceded seven.
Dennis Chung, the JFF’s general secretary, stated that the technical committee will begin interviewing candidates for the new head coach position within a week. He confirmed that the committee has shortlisted five applicants from an initial pool of 40.
“We ended up getting 40 applicants,” Chung said. “The technical chair said we are down to five. The public will hear very shortly who the coach is. But I can tell you there are some very exciting prospects with some very good track records.”
Chung noted that the high level of interest in the position is due to Jamaica’s strong prospects of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Concacaf region could have up to eight teams in the World Cup for the first time, with Canada, Mexico, and the USA automatically qualifying as co-hosts of the expanded 48-nation, 104-game tournament.
Following the final round of Concacaf qualification, the three group winners will qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026, joining the three host nations. Additionally, the best two runners-up will compete in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.
The Reggae Boyz have won their first two matches in the second round of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers and are tied with Guatemala at the top of their group with six points each. The top two teams from each group will progress to the final round of qualification.
