Best in the region

Following a successful U17 World Cup Qualifying campaign for the young Reggae Boyz, there has been further fanfare for the island as team captain Jahmarie Nolan has been named the recipient of the Concacaf Best Player Award.

Jamaica topped Group G of the Concacaf Men’s U17 Championship to book their spot at the FIFA Men’s U17 World Cup in Qatar in November.

The young Reggae Boyz opened the qualifiers with a 3-0 win over Aruba, before demolishing the Cayman Islands 12-0.

In their final game of the group, they got the better of Canada 3-1 to seal their qualification to the age-group World Cup.

Along the way, Nolan led the team not just as the captain, but as one of the best performers in all three games.

He recorded four goals throughout the three games, getting a goal and an assist against Aruba and Canada and bagging a brace against the Cayman Islands.

But his best performance came when Jamaica needed him most, in a do-or-die game against Canada.

The Boyz entered the fixture tied on points with Canada, but held the advantage with a better goal difference.

Nolan started the rout early when he ghosted into the box to open the scoring in the 37th minute.

He was involved in the build-up play for Jamaica’s second goal, where Jamone Lyle bagged a stunning effort, and closed off the win, turning provider in time added to play ball across the box for Jaheem Bennett to bag Jamaica’s third.

His brilliant performances saw him crowned the tournament’s best player, beating out a stacked lineup of notables.

The former Mount Pleasant Football Academy player, who now plays for Toronto FC II in the MLS Next Pro League, has had a meteoric rise in his career.

He signed for Toronto FC II in March last year, aged 15, becoming the youngest-ever player to sign an MLS Next Pro contract for the club, and scored his first goal in Toronto colours two months later.

Before that, he was touted as one of the rising talents in Mount Pleasant’s youth ranks, making his debut in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) for the St Ann-based club at just age 14.

The other individual awards went to United States striker, Malik Jakupovic, who earned the Golden Boot award with his tally of eight goals, while El Salvador won the Fair Play award for their discipline on the field.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com