FORMER Reggae Boyz World Cup hero Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore is relishing the opportunity after being confirmed as the head coach of Mount Pleasant Football Academy.

The St Ann-based club, chasing its first Jamaica Premier League title, made the announcement on Wednesday.

“It will be a challenging task but one that I am up to — and I am looking at this appointment as an important way of contributing to the development of Jamaica’s football,” Whitmore, the former national coach, was quoted as saying.

In a press release, Mount Pleasant said Whitmore is “charged with building on the strengths and successes of the club over the past four years”.

It continued: “The club, having been promoted to Jamaica’s top tier four seasons ago, has been steadfast in building our foundation and ensuring there is a platform for not only success, but continued growth.

“Bringing in a coach with the calibre of Tappa at this point in our development and growth as a club is not only timely but critical in advancing our sporting goals.”

Whitmore is the third local coach to lead the team after Donovan Duckie and Paul “Tegat” Davis, and the first since the hiring of Englishmen Wally Downes and Nick Eaden.

Whitmore has served on several Fifa technical committees and coached Jamaica to three consecutive Concacaf Gold Cup semi-finals. Under his guidance the Reggae Boyz reached the 2017 final.

Whitmore was relieved of his duties as coach of the Reggae Boyz team in late 2021, midway the Concacaf World Cup qualifying matches.

The release from the club said: ” ‘Tappa’ comes with a tremendous pedigree as a coach along with his wealth of knowledge of the local football landscape, of our players, and of both coaching and managing elite-level players.”

Whitmore, a star of the France 1998 World Cup, came to prominence as a player with Violet Kickers in the mid-1990s, leading the St James-based club to their first Premier League title in the 1994 season.

As a coach, Whitmore, who turns 50 in August, had local stints in the Premier League and coached Seba United in the 2007 season. He also coached St James High in the schoolboy football competition.

— Paul A Reid