( l - r ) Lowe, Barrett, Gaynor, Brown

Western Bureau:

Five members of Jamaica's team which qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, as well as Barrington 'Cobra' Gaynor, another former national player, will be honoured in two benefit football matches in Montego Bay and Kingston over the yuletide season.

The matches, dubbed Christmas Extravaganza, will see a St James All Stars team and their Kingston counterparts squaring off in one game at Jarrett Park, Montego Bay, on Wednesday, December 23rd; and another at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium in Kingston on Wednesday, December 30th.

"We intend to make this an annual affair to recognise those players who helped us to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France," said businessman George O'Connor, of Club Storm, which is promoting the event.

He added: "This year we have selected six of those stars, three from the west and three from Kingston."

The three players who will be recognised in the Montego Bay game are former national captain and star goalkeeper Warren Barrett, stalwart defender Durrent 'Tatty' Brown and the late midfield dynamo, Stephen 'Shorty' Malcolm.

"The proceeds to Durrent 'Tatty' Brown and Warren Barrett will go to a charity of their choice, while the immediate family of Stephen 'Shorty' Malcolm will benefit from his share of the proceeds," noted O'Connor.

For the return leg in Kingston, the honourees will be the versatile Onandi Lowe, striker extraordinaire Walter 'Blacka' Boyd and diminutive defender Barrington 'Cobra' Gaynor, who is now confined to a wheelchair.

In a bid to add variety and flavour to the games, both the St James and Corporate Area teams will be featuring a blend of former stars and promising youngsters ranging from the 1998 era to the present.

The players confirmed for the St James team are: Warren Barrett, Rodney Barr, Devon Ricketts, Allan Ottey, Paul 'Tegat' Davis, Durrent Brown, Venton Evans, Athol Shearer, Delton Clarke, Timothy Graham, Garnett Denton, Kenneth 'Blacks' Gaynor, Oniel Robinson, Dane Randall, Asornie Bingham, Phillip Wong and Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore.

The Corporate Area aggregation reads: Walter Boyd, Onandi Lowe, Linval Dixon, Irvino English, Jermaine Hue, Kevin Wilson, Cornel Chin-Sue, Devon Hodges, Steve Green, Kevin Lamey, Andre Darby, Jermaine Taylor, Dicoy Williams, George Vernal, Keniel Moodie, Kemar Daley and Darren Mattocks.