World governing football body FIFA drastically changed the format of the Under-17 World Cup from every four years to annually and Jamaica Football Federation’s president Michael Ricketts said they have put things in place for the young Reggae Boyz to be there every year.

The Men’s Under-17 World Cup was started 39 years ago in 1985 and Jamaica have qualified for just two editions in 1999 and 2011.

In fact, that team led by Wendell Downswell, was the last Jamaican male team to qualify for any World Cup. That team had the likes of current senior Reggae Boyz, Romario Williams, Alvas Powell, captain Omar Holness, Oshane Jenkins, Andre Lewis, Cardel Benbow and Jason Wright who currently plays for Molynes United.

From 2025 the tournament will take place annually and will have 48 participating teams, and Jamaica has been drawn alongside El Salvador, St Lucia and the Cayman Islands in qualifying and Ricketts told Our Today, that he expects that Jamaica will be every year.

“I honestly think we have a pretty decent chance based on the draw. I think the preparation has gone well,” said Ricketts. “We have an ambassador for the 17 programme, Omar McFarlane. We have a coaching staff headed by Altman Butler, who really would have done wonders with this Under-17 squad. They have had some camps. They have had some practice games, and all seem to be on track in relation to qualification for the World Cup.”

He added: “We have to ensure that we have a sustained plan in place because the Under-17 World Cup will now be every year. So, we must put some succession planning in place so that the Under-14s make the transition to Under-15, and so the Under-15s will make the transition to Under-17.

The young Reggae Boyz will start their campaign on February 10 against St Lucia before facing Cayman Islands on February 12 and end the group stage on February 15 against El Salvador. The eight group winners will qualify for the World Cup.

“The technical department is working assiduously to ensure that we get as many practice games as is possible going into the qualifiers. We do have El Salvador, St Lucia and Cayman in our group and we are just very hopeful. And we will be doing as much as we can to ensure that the Under-17s get as much as they may need to qualify for this World Cup. Like I’ve said, it’s every year,” Ricketts pointed out.

“So, we are working to ensure that we have a quality Under-17 team every year so that we give them an opportunity to qualify each year. For the next 5 years, the tournament will be in Qatar. So, we’re hoping that the next 5 years, we’ll be in Qatar with our under 17 youths,” Ricketts reiterated.