BAILEY’S OUT!

WITH the Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz eyeing a spot in the knockout stages of the Concacaf Nations League, they will have to do so without winger Leon Bailey who has withdrawn from the entire group stage campaign.

Bailey, who recently signed for perennial Greek champions Olympiakos FC, was one of the marquee names in interim head coach Rudolph Speid’s 24-man squad and was due to join the group on Monday, ahead of their opening game against Guatemala at the National Stadium on Friday. Although the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) made no official announcement on Bailey’s withdrawal, Bailey didn’t arrive on the island and will stay in Greece as he recovers from an injury. The 29-year-old has reportedly been suffering with the injury since playing just over 13 minutes in Olympiakos’s 2-1 win over Jagiellonia Bialystok in the UEFA Europa League last Thursday. Bailey missed the club’s Sunday’s Super League Greece clash against Levadiakos.

Jamaica Reggae Boyz winger Leon Bailey prepares to strike the ball during training at Verde Valle in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 30, 2026, ahead of the FIFA World Cup play-off final against DR Congo. (Photo: JFF)

Greek journalist George Stasinopoulos played down the severity of the injury but said, “Olympiacos came to an agreement with the medical staff of the Jamaican national team, with both sides coming to an agreement and ultimately Leon Bailey not getting on the plane to make the trip for his national team. “He suffered from injuries last season and faced several issues, so they have decided to pay enough attention to the Jamaican and take advantage of the break.” Europa League champion Bailey will miss not only Friday’s game against Guatemala and Monday’s clash with Honduras at the National Stadium, but also the away fixtures against El Salvador next Friday and Honduras on October 5, which will complete Jamaica’s Group B fixtures in Nations League A. It’s the second-consecutive season where he’s missed the national team’s group stage campaign, having missed all four games in 2024 against Cuba, Honduras (twice) and Nicaragua. Bailey, who has seven goals in 41 caps for the Reggae Boyz, also missed the entirety of last year’s final round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers after picking up several injuries during his short loan spell at AS Roma in Serie A. Jamaica ultimately finished runners-up behind Curacao, and missed automatic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in United States, Mexico and Canada. The former Aston Villa winger did feature in the World Cup play-offs in March against New Caledonia and DR Congo but has missed 17 of Jamaica’s last 28 competitive fixtures. The

Jamaica Observer

has learnt that a replacement for Bailey is set to be announced Tuesday, with Speid and his technical staff still considering their options as late as Monday afternoon. Last Friday, Speid revealed he scouted 72 players for the Nations League group stage before selecting the final squad. He also said he invited players outside of the initial 24 to train with the squad as part of a scouting mission, but those names haven’t been made public. Most of the group participated in an activation session on Monday, with the others set to join the team in their first training session on Tuesday at the National Stadium. The Reggae Boyz need to finish top two in their group to advance to the quarter-finals where they would play one of Concacaf’s top four nations, Mexico, USA, Canada or Panama, which were pre-seeded.