Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
THE REGGAE Boyz' proposed games against African nations Nigeria and Ghana look to be on the cards as negotiations for the friendlies are said to be at an "advanced stage".
"We are basically waiting on them to get back to us now. We will make an announcement as soon as things are finalised," said Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Crenston Boxhill yesterday.
"We have been in favourable discussions with both teams for a while now, so hopefully we will be able to make an announcement soon," he said.
It appears that the Boyz, who have not featured in any international friendlies since late June when they went on an unsuccessful tour of Asia, will finally be making use of upcoming FIFA friendly match dates.
To travel abroad
The team is expected to travel abroad to face Ghana's Black Stars on October 14 before returning to the National Stadium to host Nigeria's Super Eagles on October 16. Despite the closeness of the games, likely to be held in different places, the JFF still hopes to play both friendllies.
With a berth at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa still the major target, things have not gone well for the national team in recent times.
The team suffered heavy losses on its ill-fated tour of Asia, going down 2-1 to Indonesia, 3-0 to Vietnam and then 8-1 to Iran. After that the Boyz plummeted a shocking 32 places in July's FIFA rankings and then fell another two spots in the next two months to see them equal their lowest mark of 96 this month.
The Asia trip had been branded an experimental period for the JFF which, along with new technical director Velibor Milutinovic, had highlighted building a capable local squad as its target.
To use best players
With that project declared to be officially over, the Reggae Boyz are expected to use the best available players in the upcoming friendlies.
Since taking the reins as technical director, Milutinovic has only been victorious in one of eight friendly international outings; however, the Serbian has never had a full strength squad at his disposal.
With the rest of the region's top teams already active over the past couple of months, the Reggae Boyz, who missed out on an opportunity to face some of their rivals in this year's Gold Cup, will be playing catch-up.
The Jamaicans have not assembled a full team since June of last year when they played Ghana and England before those teams' participation at the World Cup.
Ghana beat the Boyz 4-1 at Leicester, while England pounded the team 6-0 at Old Trafford.
Against Nigeria, the Jamaicans have won one match, drawn one and lost two. The last time the teams met, in London, Nigeria came away with a 2-0 victory.
