U20 Boyz to oppose Haiti in friendly as Lauderhill prepares for World Cup

The national Under-20 team will continue their preparations for the final round of the Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers when they face Haiti tomorrow in a friendly international game.

The game forms part of the two-day pre-World Cup activities which that are being put on by the city of Lauderhill in Florida. The highly anticipated event, which was launched on Thursday, is scheduled to begin today and is expected to be attended by thousands of persons within the diaspora.

Sean Edwards, marketing officer for the event, said he is looking forward to two great days of fun and excitement.

“As part of the two-day festivities, the Jamaica Under-20 team will face off against the Haiti Under-20 team on Sunday at the Lauderhill Sport Complex,” said Edwards.

“The launch was very well put together, and it was a very special moment because the mayor and vice mayor were present, and we also had dignitaries and delegates from the Jamaica Football Federation and the Haitian football team," he said.

Edwards added that he is expecting hundreds of persons to turn out for the event, as the excitement builds towards the start of this year’s World Cup tournament.

“It is good  to get people who are already excited for the World Cup to get even more excited, and it is, basically, getting the World Cup excitement going,” he said.

“We are expecting a lot of Jamaicans and a lot of Haitians because we will have Under-20 Jamaicans playing the Under-20 Haitian national team on Sunday,” Edwards noted.

“There will also be several other football matches including one involving a Jamaican Masters team. Several popular artistes will perform over the two days as well.”

Edwards pointed out that even before Thursday’s launch of the competition, they had been receiving a lot of positive feedback from persons within the diaspora about the staging of the event.

“I am feeling very excited because even from before the launch, we were getting the word out there, and we expect people from the Caribbean Diaspora to come out in their numbers,” he said.

Mayor of Lauderhill Denise Grant said she is looking forward to two great days of activities.

“Lauderhill is a big city with great responsibilities - and I love my job. I try to be in the moment and be mentally prepared and present at all times,” said Grant.

“Today was one of those special moments.  I joined my colleague, Vice Mayor Richard Campbell, other dignitaries, and delegates of JFF and the Haitian Football Team at a press conference to talk about World Cup soccer and its impact in Lauderhill and Broward County. As mayor, I was pleased to receive a jersey from the Jamaica Football Federation's operations director, Omar McFarlane,” she said.