‘WE’RE PROUD!’

PORTMORE United Chairman Garwin Tulloch believes the club have made significant strides and are preparing to test themselves against the region’s best in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup. The reigning Jamaica Premier League champions will vie for the Concacaf Caribbean Cup title in December, after beating Haiti’s Violette 4-3 on aggregate, despite a 1-2 loss in their second- leg semi-final at Sabina Park on Wednesday. Portmore’s 3-1 first-leg win was enough to secure a spot in the first-ever all-Jamaican Caribbean Cup final, joining defending champions Mount Pleasant Football Academy who beat Trinidad and Tobago’s Club Sando in their semi-final matchup. It’s another achievement for the club since the arrival of its new leadership group in 2024, led by Tulloch’s United Sports Group.

Portmore United Chairman Garwin Tulloch

“The technical team has learnt a lot along the way and administratively, we have improved and we’re just seeing the results on the pitch from the work of the technical team and the management of the club,” Tulloch told the Jamaica Observer. “So it may seem like a short space of time in terms of the results on the pitch but the work went in before that. It’s a great achievement and we’re proud.” Despite winning the now-defunct CFU Club Championship in 2005 and 2019, Portmore had not competed in regional competition for more than five years before this year’s tournament. However, Tulloch says the team understood the importance of the Caribbean Cup — and their performances reflected that. “To be honest, I’m very impressed, because it’s easy to motivate the youngsters and the lads at this level because the opportunity to be on the international platforms is what every aspiring young footballer tries to get,” he said. “In fact, it’s actually harder to motivate them to play in the local competition right now because they’re focused primarily on playing Concacaf, so motivating the technical team and the players is really very difficult. But, I have to give credit also to our coaching staff who have levelled and made responsible decisions; rotation of the squad is also very important at this time — ‘man management’ is really the word and they’ve done a very good job in doing that.” Regardless of the two-legged final against Mount Pleasant on December 1 and 5 in Kingston, Portmore will compete in the Champions Cup where they could face top clubs from the likes of USA, Mexico, Canada and Central America. Tulloch says the club will need to take another step if they are to be competitive in the competition. “The more you advance in the competition, logically, it’s a wider platform and it’s a harder challenge. And at this point it takes more mettle because, traditionally, we in our region — as in the Caribbean— don’t normally fare well at that level so we’re preparing ourselves to compete at that level,” he said. “First, we have to win the championship against Mount Pleasant — which is important for us because it gives us a bye into the round of one. So, it’s important; it’s a wider platform and we’re looking forward to the challenge.” Portmore join Mount Pleasant and Cavalier FC as the only Jamaican clubs to qualify for the revamped Champions Cup. Portmore return to local competition on Sunday when they visit Montego Bay United in the Legend Jamaica Premier League.