JAMAICA will be without sturdy defender Ian "Pepe" Goodison and possibly several other overseas stars when the Copa Caribe (formerly Shell Cup) kicks off in Trinidad and Tobago on May 16.
Strong-man defender Goodison, has been asked by his English Division Three team, Hull City, to remain in Britain and assist them in their quest for promotion to Division Two in games against Leyton Orient.
However, Goodison's Jamaican teammate, midfielder Theodore Whitmore who has not been used regularly at Hull in recent times, has been released for the Copa Caribe. The English club, according to a web site report, does not have plans for him in the playoffs.
"Ian is staying, which is a tremendous boost," Hull's manager Brian Little was quoted as saying. "To be fair to the Jamaican FA, they would have allowed Theo (Whitmore) to stay as well if he'd been in our side on a regular basis. I spoke to their coach and he said it wasn't really fair to keep Theo if we didn't intend to play him.
"The compromise was to allow Theo to go and keep Ian. They could have taken Ian as well because it is a recognised tournament. We're grateful to the Jamaican FA but they understand how important the play-offs are to us," said Little.
The first game against Leyton orient is scheduled for May 16, and the play-off final is set for May 23.
The Copa Caribe is set to run from May 16-25.
It is also uncertain whether Jamaica will have the services England-based Ricardo Gardner, whose Division One team Bolton Wanderers will be involved in play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. Derby County's Darryl Powell, through injury, looks very doubtful.
US Major League Soccer (MLS) players Andy Williams, Chris Dawes, Tyrone Marshall and Wolde Harris are also uncertain for the tournament.
Meantime, Arnett Gardens striker Kevin Wilson and Kirk Wright of Westmoreland's Reno are among 24 players who were invited to a training camp for the tournament.
Wilson, sidelined for eight months with a knee injury, earns a recall, while Wright, who scored two hat-tricks for his club Reno towards the end of the preliminary round of the Premier League, gets his first call-up.
Wilson's team is set to play the first leg of a two-way national championship decider against fellow Corporate Area team, Waterhouse. He scored a goal and set up a second in his team's 2-0 first-leg semi-final victory against last year's champions, Harbour View, who were eliminated despite winning the return-leg game 3-2 on Sunday.
Wright, a bustling striker, formerly represented Manchester's Mile Gully before joining ranks with three-time Premier League champions Reno.
For the Copa Caribe tournament, Jamaica, which are also involved in final round World Cup qualifying action, will play round-robin in a crack Group A which features fellow World Cup aspirants and hosts, Trinidad and Tobago; Barbados, which had advanced to the semi-final round of the CONCACAF World Cup play-offs and Martinique, the only other team to win the regional football title besides seven-time winners Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, which won twice.
Group B includes St. Kitts, Suriname, Haiti and Cuba. The top two will advance to a knock-out semi-final, with the group winner playing the runner-up from the other zone.
Jamaica's squad: Linval Dixon (captain), Donovan Ricketts, Leon Gordon, Aaron Lawrence, Shawn Sawyers, Marco McDonald, Shane Crawford, Damion Stewart, Woolry Wolfe, Shane Stevens, Omar Daley, Jermaine Johnson, Kevon Harris, Claude Davis, Fabian Taylor, Christopher Nicholas, Onandi Lowe, Sean Fraser, Fabian Blake, Kevin Wilson, Kirk Wright, Patrick Graham.
By Audley Boyd
Staff Reporter
