KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) – In a swift response to the sudden resignation of Steve McClaren, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has named local football stalwart Rudolph Speid as the interim head coach of the national senior men’s team, the Reggae Boyz.
The announcement, made on Friday afternoon, follows an emergency JFF meeting convened to address the leadership vacuum after McClaren’s departure on Tuesday.
The federation confirmed that Speid was one of two candidates interviewed for the post earlier today.
Speid, who has served as the team’s technical advisor for the past four months, will officially take the reins on December 15, 2025.
His contract is set to run until March 31, 2026, a period that crucially encompasses the team’s final shot at qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
The JFF also revealed that discussions are underway with Miguel Coley, the other candidate interviewed for the head coach position, to return as assistant coach.
Coley, a former Reggae Boyz assistant now based in Iraq, is a familiar face within the national setup.
Speid’s appointment places the team’s fortunes in the hands of a proven winner on the domestic stage. As the head of Cavalier FC, he has engineered a period of remarkable success, securing three Jamaica Premier League titles in the last four years and clinching the 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup.
His immediate and monumental task will be to galvanise the squad for their last-ditch World Cup qualifying campaign at the Inter-Confederation Playoffs in March.
The Reggae Boyz will face Oceania’s New Caledonia in a semi-final showdown. A victory there would set up a winner-takes-all final against Africa’s DR Congo, with a coveted spot in next year’s global tournament on the line.