The Tribune

• Follow the action on Thursday from the national stadium on twitter.com/tribune242 or on the Twitter panel at the right hand side of the home page - kick off is at 8.00pm.

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

TOTTENHAM Hotspur and Jamaica’s “Reggae Boyz” soccer teams have settled in their new residences for this week as they get ready for their historic exhibition match at the new Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Thursday.

In the lead up to the match at 8pm, it is expected that both teams’ visit to the Bahamas will be low-key.

The “Reggae Boyz,” preparing for three matches next month in their bid to qualify for the World Cup, are expected to go through their first set of workouts at the stadium today.

Tottenham missed out on advancing to the Champions League in England. The team was originally scheduled to travel to Exuma for a day away on Tuesday, but that was cancelled.

Simon Felstein, the press liaison officer for the team, would only indicate that “the team has settled in well since arriving (Monday) and are looking forward to Thursday’s game which we know will be extremely competitive. All of our first team players that are fit have travelled to the Bahamas.”

Once the game is finished, the team is expected to spend a few days relaxing in the Bahamas.

The “Reggae Boyz”, on the other hand, are set to hold a training camp here through May 30 before they return home to face Mexico (June 4) and the United States (June 7) in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Four days later, they are scheduled to travel to Honduras for another match.

While planning the trip here, the Jamaicans were hoping to secure a match against the Bahamas national team before they leave.

But Bahamas Football Association president Anton Sealey said more than likely that won’t happen.

“Right now it’s not practical for us because we really can’t field a team that can provide them with any type of competition,” Sealey said. “The majority of our key players are either in the United States or elsewhere and it will be impossible for us to get them here in time.”

Sealey, however, said they are still looking at whether or not they will still be able to put together a team that can give the Jamaicans a scrimmage before they leave.

Immediately following the game, Sealey and secretary general Fred Lunn will be heading to Mauritius to participate in a FIFA Congress.

The BFA just recently hosted a successful CONCACAF Bahamas Beach Soccer Qualifier for the FIFA World Cup at the newly built beach soccer facility in Malcolm Park, at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge.