KINGSTON, Jamaica — The 2025 FIFA Boys Under-17 World Cup, set to kick off later this year in Qatar, has locked in its first-round groupings, and Jamaica’s Young Reggae Boyz have landed a challenging spot in Group E alongside global and regional heavyweights Italy, Ivory Coast, and Uzbekistan, the Jamaican Football Federation confirmed Thursday.
This tournament will mark Jamaica’s third appearance at the FIFA Boys Under-17 World Cup, a milestone earned after a dominant run at the Concacaf qualifying tournament held in Alajuela, Costa Rica this past February. Entering the final round of regional qualifying, Jamaica’s young squad delivered an undefeated performance, topping their group to secure automatic passage to the Qatar main event. That standout result placed the Caribbean nation in the fourth and final pot for the official draw, setting up their matchup with three higher-ranked opponents in the first round.
A total of 48 national teams will compete in the 2025 edition of the youth football tournament, a expanded field split into 12 four-team groups for the opening round. The competition format sets a clear path to the knockout stage: the top two finishing teams from each group will advance, alongside eight highest-ranked third-placed teams across all groups, to form the 32-team field for the first knockout round.
Jamaica’s road to Qatar was nothing short of perfect. In the regional Concacaf qualifying group stage, the young side picked up maximum nine points from three matches, with wins over Aruba, the Cayman Islands, and Concacaf powerhouse Canada to seal their spot at the main event. The team will now enter months of preparation to face their new Group E opponents when they travel to Qatar later this year, aiming to replicate their qualifying success and progress past the first round of the global tournament.
Reporting by Paul A Reid