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🇯🇲 Why are Jamaica still so bad?

🇯🇲 Why are Jamaica still so bad?

The Reggae Boyz lost to Guatemala in their opening Gold Cup game, continuing a trend of underachievement stretching back decades.

Graham Ruthven's avatar
Graham Ruthven
Jun 19, 2025
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The Soccer Dispatch
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🇯🇲 Why are Jamaica still so bad?
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Next year will mark 28 years since Jamaica’s last appearance at a World Cup.

France 98 was meant to herald the start of a golden age for The Reggae Boyz. Instead, it was a false dawn as Jamaica sat out the next six World Cups.

The way things are going, they might not make the 2026 World Cup either despite the tournament’s expansion to 48 teams including six from CONCACAF.

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Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Guatemala was another step backwards for a Jamaica team that can’t stop itself entering the same spiral over and over again going back decades.

Jamaica should, on paper, have a stronger national team. So why don’t they?

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