Under 20 footballers depart tomorrow

Park University student Robert Palmer along with schoolboys McKauly Tulloch of Kingston College, Shamar Shelton and Kemal Malcolm of St Georges will travel with the young Reggae Boys for the first time tomorrow when they depart for St Vincent and the Grenadines.



The four were named in Jamaica’s Under-20 football squad to contest the final stage of the Caribbean Football Union qualifiers from January 7 to 14.



Palmer, a versatile player who can operate both in midfield and defense, was brought in to bolster the team’s defence. Prior to pursing studies at Park University, Palmer figured prominently in Jamaica College’s 2007 Manning Cup championship team and did the same for Calabar the previous year.



Shelton and Malcolm, both attacking players, formed a productive strike partnership for St George’s College, which saw them winning the Manning Cup, and the Olivier Shield in the just concluded season.



The Jamaicans, who are in pursuit of a berth in their second Under-20 World Cup finals having qualified in 2001, are drawn with hosts St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.



To keep their chances of achieving that feat, Jamaica must top the group. If they do, they advance to the CONCACAF round of qualifiers, which takes place in Trinidad and Tobago in March.