Hall To Reunite With Whitmore As Reggae Boyz Tackle Future
Paul Hall, who made almost 50 appearances for Jamaica, has been unveiled as assistant coach to Theodore Whitmore as the Reggae Boyz prepare to tackle next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup and the region’s World Cup qualifiers.
The English-born former striker, who kicked off his international career in 1997 and played all all three World Cup matches at the France ‘98 tournament, will split his duties as London-based Queens Park Rangers’ Under-23 coach alongside his new part-time role with the Boyz.
Hall, who has been a coach with QPR since 2015, announced on the English Championship club’s website: “I am honoured and privileged to have been asked to be the assistant coach of the Jamaica national senior team. This will be on a part-time basis. So I will continue to work with QPR and develop players, which I am passionate about.
“I would like to thank the QPR owners, the board as well as Lee (Hoos), Les (Ferdinand), and Chris (Ramsey) for supporting me on this fantastic journey.”
The 48-year-old, who holds a UEFA ‘A’ coaching licence, was assistant manager at non-league outfits Mansfield Town and Tamworth before moving to QPR.
Hall scored 14 goals in 48 international appearances, his last game for Jamaica was the 2003 scoreless draw against South Africa in Cape Town.
He played alongside Whitmore in Jamaica’s one and only foray to the World Cup finals when they lost 3-1 to Croatia in Lens, were stuffed 5-0 by Argentina in Paris but stunned Japan 2-1 in Lyon thanks to Whitmore’s brace.
Montego Bay-born Whitmore, who won’t be taking any gambles at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, has named a provisional squad for the tournament where the Boyz have reached the past three semi-finals and reached two of the past three finals.
Bringing in someone like Hall, who was a journeyman who amassed almost 700 games with 15 clubs spanning 22 years, could help lift the squad who produced two very different performances from their recent friendlies in Japan.
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