Tweet
This guy Gordon Williams writes excellent articles... good journalist
Canada's Boyz: Toronto trio ponders national options
Published: Sunday | November 28, 2010
Gordon Williams , Gleaner Writer
On that August evening in 2008, as he got ready to watch the Reggae Boyz play Canada, Ashtone Morgan didn't hesitate choosing which colours to wear for the World Cup qualifier in Toronto.
"I have a Jamaican jersey, I have a Canada jersey," Morgan explained with a laugh over two years later. "... I had my Jamaican jersey on."
The decision was simple. Morgan's father Wayne, his biggest football influence, is from Kingston. The teenager grew up on patois and reggae. He loves jerk chicken.
But today the choice is fuzzier. Morgan was born and raised in Canada. Now 19, he has already represented the North American nation at several youth levels, and is poised to begin a professional career, possibly with Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, where he is enrolled in its football academy.
Canada is home, where Morgan embraced everything he knows - family, education and football. He visited Jamaica once - as a child. So Morgan leans heavily on the red and white of Canada. Yet he is not ready to concede he has worn a Jamaican jersey for the last time.
"I like to keep my options open," said Morgan in a more serious tone while attending a recent training camp in the United States with Canada's under-23 team. "You never know."
Morgan, a left back who has drawn comments about his resemblance to England international Ashley Cole in looks, playing style and position on the field, wasn't the only one in Canada's camp considering that dilemma. Forward/midfielder Kyle Porter and Sean Hart, a defender, were also in that squad. Both were born in Canada to Jamaican parents and represented the country in youth football.
Until the trio represents Canada in a senior level competition officially sanctioned by football's governing body FIFA, such as World Cup qualifiers, they remain eligible to play for Jamaica. Like Morgan, Porter and Hart are not ready to shut the door on future possibilities.
"Right now I'd probably be leaning more towards Canada," said Hart. " ... But you never know what happens."
DEEP ROOTS
The connections to 'yard' run deep for all three. Porter, 20, admitted that matches he has played against Jamaica - such as Canada's 3-0 win in an under-17 World Cup qualifier and a 1-0 loss in a friendly against the under-20s - have stirred "mixed emotions because I have Jamaican blood." But, he claimed, it has never affected his play.
"I was fighting for Canada," said Porter, who played in Germany, but is with Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps, which is set to join MLS. "I had no regrets beating Jamaica."
Like Morgan and Porter, Hart, who is currently attached to the Schultz Academy in Florida, said he played for Canada because that country called first. Until recently, Jamaica never contacted them.
Hart said neither of his Kingston-born parents - father Ian and mother Sandra - pushed him towards one country or the other. Porter claimed his father Neville, from Montego Bay, wanted him to represent Jamaica, but he could not get the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) attention. Morgan said his dad has "mentioned" him playing for Jamaica, but has left the decision to him.
The three have been friends for a while. All were raised with strong Jamaican culture and played for Toronto area teams with a heavy Jamaican flavour. The link has them pondering. When asked if he ever ruled representing Jamaica, Hart's answer was a quiet "no".
full hundred
Canada's Boyz: Toronto trio ponders national options
Published: Sunday | November 28, 2010
Gordon Williams , Gleaner Writer
On that August evening in 2008, as he got ready to watch the Reggae Boyz play Canada, Ashtone Morgan didn't hesitate choosing which colours to wear for the World Cup qualifier in Toronto.
"I have a Jamaican jersey, I have a Canada jersey," Morgan explained with a laugh over two years later. "... I had my Jamaican jersey on."
The decision was simple. Morgan's father Wayne, his biggest football influence, is from Kingston. The teenager grew up on patois and reggae. He loves jerk chicken.
But today the choice is fuzzier. Morgan was born and raised in Canada. Now 19, he has already represented the North American nation at several youth levels, and is poised to begin a professional career, possibly with Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, where he is enrolled in its football academy.
Canada is home, where Morgan embraced everything he knows - family, education and football. He visited Jamaica once - as a child. So Morgan leans heavily on the red and white of Canada. Yet he is not ready to concede he has worn a Jamaican jersey for the last time.
"I like to keep my options open," said Morgan in a more serious tone while attending a recent training camp in the United States with Canada's under-23 team. "You never know."
Morgan, a left back who has drawn comments about his resemblance to England international Ashley Cole in looks, playing style and position on the field, wasn't the only one in Canada's camp considering that dilemma. Forward/midfielder Kyle Porter and Sean Hart, a defender, were also in that squad. Both were born in Canada to Jamaican parents and represented the country in youth football.
Until the trio represents Canada in a senior level competition officially sanctioned by football's governing body FIFA, such as World Cup qualifiers, they remain eligible to play for Jamaica. Like Morgan, Porter and Hart are not ready to shut the door on future possibilities.
"Right now I'd probably be leaning more towards Canada," said Hart. " ... But you never know what happens."
DEEP ROOTS
The connections to 'yard' run deep for all three. Porter, 20, admitted that matches he has played against Jamaica - such as Canada's 3-0 win in an under-17 World Cup qualifier and a 1-0 loss in a friendly against the under-20s - have stirred "mixed emotions because I have Jamaican blood." But, he claimed, it has never affected his play.
"I was fighting for Canada," said Porter, who played in Germany, but is with Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps, which is set to join MLS. "I had no regrets beating Jamaica."
Like Morgan and Porter, Hart, who is currently attached to the Schultz Academy in Florida, said he played for Canada because that country called first. Until recently, Jamaica never contacted them.
Hart said neither of his Kingston-born parents - father Ian and mother Sandra - pushed him towards one country or the other. Porter claimed his father Neville, from Montego Bay, wanted him to represent Jamaica, but he could not get the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) attention. Morgan said his dad has "mentioned" him playing for Jamaica, but has left the decision to him.
The three have been friends for a while. All were raised with strong Jamaican culture and played for Toronto area teams with a heavy Jamaican flavour. The link has them pondering. When asked if he ever ruled representing Jamaica, Hart's answer was a quiet "no".
full hundred
Comment