PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC:
JAMAICA'S Reggae Boyz, the 1998 World Cup finalists, will host Group A of the Caribbean Zone Gold Cup qualifying semi-final round which will take place in late March, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) announced.
The other countries which have been grouped with the 1998 World Cup qualifiers for one leg of the elimination series are Haiti, Martinique and St. Lucia.
Trinidad and Tobago, the region's number one ranked team, will entertain Cuba, Guadeloupe and Antigua & Barbuda in Group B.
Both series are set for March 26-30.
The Reggae Boyz, ranked second in the CFU, meet St. Lucia in their opening game on March 26, before facing Martinique on March 28.
The Jamaicans, two-time CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finalists, including a team best joint third with Costa Rica under coach Carl Brown in 1993, end the group fixtures on March 30 against Haiti, who share the number three spot in the CFU with Cuba.
T&T, CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finalists in 2000, face Antigua and Barbuda in their opening game on March 26, before tackling Guadeloupe two days later, and the CFU's joint third-ranked Cuba on March 30.
The group winners will automatically qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup finals in the United States in the summer, with the runners-up scheduled for play-off games against Central American opposition to get into the July 12-27 Gold Cup tournament.
Group A
March 26: Haiti v Martinique, Jamaica v St.Lucia
March 28: St.Lucia v Haiti, Martinique v Jamaica
March 30: St.Lucia v Martinique, Jamaica v Haiti
Group B
March 26: Guadeloupe v Cuba, T&T v Antigua & Barbuda
March 28: Cuba v Antigua & Barbuda, T&T v Guadeloupe
March 30: Antigua & Barbuda v Guadeloupe, T&T v Cuba.
