Non-League and Academy football writer

Rhys Shirley-Clarke is the manager of the Jamaica Love Football Inner City World Cup (London) 2026 team. I recently spoke to Rhys, to find out about some of his hopes for this year’s prestigious annual competition, a bit about the team, and some of his background in football.

Could you talk me through a bit about your background in football?

Rhys: I’m from Islington, and I played for a lot of teams at youth level within Islington, when I was younger. I played a lot of football at the famous Market Road, off the Cally. From there and playing over at Wanstead Flats, I had a lot of academy trials, which in the end didn’t quite work out. In the end I joined Boreham Wood’s college programme, and so I was part of their elite squad, where I trained with the first team.

Coaching wise I have worked for my beloved Arsenal FC from the age of 16 alongside my playing time and been recognised for me contribution to the community with a number of awards including receiving a no more red Arsenal shirt.

Back to football, in the end at Boreham Wood, I didn’t get a contract, and so I then went on to play non-League football. I played for Cockfosters, Enfield Town, Hadley where I played under Micky Hazard, and met some wonderful people like Steve at the club. From there to Hatfield town and then Northwood. I then ended up finishing my non-League career at Sittingbourne, and later Edgware Town, before their merger with Kingsbury.

I’ve also played Sunday football for a long time now, for Rio FC. My dad used to play for the club, and so it’s a real family club. 

How did you come about entering a Jamaican team into the Inner City World Cup London (2026)?

Rhys: I’d already played in and won the Inner City (London) World Cup on two occasions as a player with Colombia, and so I always thought that it would be great if we had a Jamaica team in the tournament. And this is the first year that we’ll have a team in the tournament, which I’ve been involved with. It’s always been an ambition of mine to see a Jamaica team in this tournament, and it’s been really interesting trying to find players for the team. It’s been through people that I know, and also through word of mouth and through social media as well, that we’ve got this team of players, who are all of Jamaican heritage.

Whether it’s one or both of their parents, or grandparents, every player has Jamaican heritage in the team. And so we’ve put a good team together, and although the draw hasn’t been too favourable to us, with Brazil and Spain being in our group, I’m still feeling confident. 

The only bad thing was that we didn’t have many friendly games to prepare for the tournament, but all of our players play at a decent standard. We have a couple of players who play in Baller League, as well as some players from Rio FC. But, we also have players from east London, and also some players who I know from Highgate Albion. So we’ve got a big range of players from different clubs, making this team both youthful and experienced. Although I wasn’t planning on playing, it’s looking like I’ll be a squad player, at this tournament.

What are some of your hopes and aims for the Jamaica team at the tournament, this year?

Rhys: The players are all keen and eager, although they haven’t played in the tournament before, so I think that their understanding of the standard of the tournament is a little bit scarce. Whereas I know that the standard of the tournament is very high, but if I’m being honest I want us to get through to the knock-out stages on the Sunday, where I think that it’s anyone’s game from there. I’ll know a lot more after our first game, and I know that we’ve got a very good side, but it’s just about whether that side is going to play well as a team on the day, or whether it’s going to be a bit of trial and error.

It’s going to be a very interesting first half of our first game, to see where we’re at as a team, but it’s got the potential to be a really good all-round tournament for us.