With Jamaica set to host the Pan-American Men’s Lacrosse Championship for the first-time ever, Jamaica Lacrosse Association (JLA) President Calbert Hutchinson said they are ready to welcome the region’s top teams.
The Pan-American Lacrosse Association (PALA) selected Jamaica as hosts for the regional championships in January earlier this year, with the games to be played at the Mico University and Stadium East.
It will be Jamaica’s first time hosting the Men’s Lacrosse Championship, and Hutchinson, speaking at a press conference yesterday, said it is a major achievement for the national association, which was founded in 2014.
He said it was credit to the work done by the JLA board members in the development of one of Jamaica’s fastest-rising sports.
“In terms of its significance and importance, it is huge in terms of the short space of time that we have managed to develop the programme to the point where we are now hosting a world qualifying event,” Hutchinson said.
“It speaks to the interest and the commitment from our board members and our supporters, and it also speaks to the importance of brand Jamaica.”
This is not the first time Jamaica has hosted a PALA event. The island was selected as hosts for the 2023 PALA Sixes Cup where Jamaica finished fifth in the men’s division and seventh in the women’s.
Hutchinson said hosting the Sixes Cup was a milestone for the association, and its successful staging was one of the reasons behind Jamaica’s bid to host the 2026 Lacrosse Championship.
He explained that the association has learnt a lot regarding hosting a world-class lacrosse tournament from their Sixes Cup experience, and he is confident that Jamaica can be an excellent host.
“The Sixes Cup really showed us that we were able to do this, and we learned a lot from that in terms of building relationships with partners here and overseas partners as well. But we were also able to see the perception of Jamaica among the countries within the Pan-American Lacrosse Association,” he said.
“They came, they participated, they enjoyed the culture, the music, the food; not just playing lacrosse, and they wanted to come back.”
Hutchinson continued, “The members within the Americas, they look forward to coming here because our sporting and athletic culture resonates with the world. The world wants to see it here, so why not?”
The 2026 Lacrosse Championship is set to run from August 13 to August 16 and is expected to feature 13 of the region’s top teams, including the United States and Canada, who are ranked first and second in the world, respectively.
Other nations expected to compete at the championship include Argentina, Colombia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Haudenosaunee, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands
The championship will serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in Japan as well as the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship Division II.
