Stage set for Jamaica, Canada in exciting Olympic Playoff

MIAMI, Florida – On Friday evening, the first leg of the Concacaf Olympic Playoff between Canada and Jamaica will take place at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica, for the final spot to be part of the 2024 Paris Olympics and to secure a berth in the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.

This will be the 10th time these two national teams have faced each other, with Canada having won all nine previous encounters. They both were part of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer, although with different results.

Canada, the reigning Olympic Champions (Tokyo 2020), left the competition at the group stage. However, they still have the hunger and the squad to go at it again and prove to the world why they are the ones with the Gold Medal.

Many faces that won that first Gold, as well as the Bronze Medal at London 2012 and Rio 2016, will return. MF Jessie Fleming, one of the game-changers in their last competitions, will take to the pitch again to create Canada’s game. Captain and football legend Christine Sinclair is back wearing the armband to lead this team to get the ticket to defend their Olympic title.

Jamaica, the first Caribbean nation to play in a Women’s World Cup, qualified for the first time to the Round of 16 at Australia/New Zealand 2023, showing the world of football the reason they are now considered one of the best teams in the region.

The Reggae Girlz are looking to write history one more time by being the first Caribbean country to qualify for the Olympic Games. On Friday, key players like GK Rebecca Spencer and captain Khadija Shaw will show up to the pitch, having the home crowd’s support.

It is all or nothing to play for these teams in this first match. The players are no strangers to pressure and will be ready to prove why this is one of the biggest matches of the year in the hopes of edging closer to Paris 2024 and the W Gold Cup.