Jamaica women's national team voices 'utmost disappointment' with federation ahead of World Cup

With just 34 days until the start of the World Cup, the Jamaica women's national team players issued a collective statement voicing their "utmost disappointment" in how the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has been resourcing and handling their tournament preparations.  

The statement was delivered simultaneously via every member of the current squad's social media channels. Some players who are not in the most recent squad, but have been prominent players on past squads, also posted the statement. 

At the heart of the statement is a calling out of the JFF's unprofessional treatment of the players. The players accuse the federation of failing to pay out the agreed compensation, as well as provide sufficient resources in areas such as nutrition, travel, and training conditions.  

In addition to identifying the issues, the Jamaica players explained that they have numerous meetings to resolve their complaints with the federation. According to the statement, the players were told that their requests would be "resolved in a timely manner." However, the timeframe that was agreed upon has now "expired" and the players' concerns are falling on deaf ears. 

As the statement concludes, the Jamaica players ask for "immediate and systematic change" from within the JFF. The Reggae Girlz emphasize that the integrity of women's soccer is being undermined as some of the best players in the world are having to operate at the top of the game under these subpar conditions. Their soccer is suffering because of it. 

To give you a sense of the situation, the mother of a player has launched a GoFundMe to help cover the team's travel costs. Sandra Lee Phillips, identifying as "the proud mother of Havana Solaun who plays for the Jamaican Reggae Girlz National Team," created the online fundraiser noting that getting to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup "is a costly endeavor and it is my intention to allow both staff and players to focus on the competition by helping raise funds to cover some of the expenses incurred on this incredible adventure Down Under." 

What awaits the squad

Jamaica is currently in the midst of a preparation camp. Head coach Lorne Donaldson called in 25 players, with a 23 player roster for this summer's World Cup to be named before July 10. 

The Reggae Girls are in Group F, and will begin their tournament against France, in Sydney, on July 23. Jamaica will then play a familiar Concacaf opponent in Panama on July 29, in Perth, before closing out the group stage against contenders Brazil, in Melbourne, on August 2. 

This is the second-ever time that Jamaica has qualified for the World Cup. The first was in 2019, in France. Even though the Reggae Girlz lost all three of their group-stage matches at that tournament, the country's first World Cup appearance was a huge step forward. With high-profile international stars like Man City's Khadijah Shaw and Paris Saint-Germain's Allyson Swaby in their ranks, the six years has seen a significant rise in Jamaican soccer talent and recognition. 

READ MORE: CONCACAFW: Mexico roars then falters, Jamaica qualifies for World Cup

Despite these gains, it would appear little has changed. Support is sparse. Respect from the federation is in short supply. During the past FIFA window, in April, the national team could not line up any nations to play two friendlies against. Instead, a behind-closed-doors match with English second-division club Sheffield United was scheduled. 

Once again, there are no pre-tournament friendlies currently scheduled. Jamaica's only competitive action this year came in February when the team traveled to Australia for a set of warm-up matches. The women's national team has regularly relied on the generosity of the Marley Foundation and Cadella Marley to help fund its efforts. 

Here is the statement from the Jamaica players in full:

One of the greatest honors for a footballer is to represent your national team. Qualifying for a second World Cup is something almost never imagined or thought possible for the Reggae Girlz. At a time when we should be focused solely on preparing to compete on the world's largest stage, we are unfortunately compelled to express our utmost disappointment with the Jamaica Football Federation.

On multiple occasions, we have sat down with the federation to respectfully express concerns resulting from subpar planning, transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition, and accessibility to proper resources. We have also shown up repeatedly without receiving contractually agreed-upon compensation. 

We were told that all our requests and concerns would be resolved in a timely manner. Unfortunately, that time has expired and once again our questions go unanswered and our concerns unresolved. 

In recent months, due to extreme disorganization of camp logistics, we have missed several official FIFA friendly matches. This will undoubtedly impact our preparation for Australia. The Reggae Girlz consists of professional and collegiate footballers who are spread out across the world. To be left questioning whether a camp will even take place two to three days before the expected start is unprofessional and often unfairly prohibitive for some of our players.

There is unwavering commitment from every player, coach and staff member of the Reggae Girlz. We desire to perform our best, to make Jamaica proud, and to ensure a strong future for so many aspiring young Reggae Girlz! We are constantly serving in multiple capacities, trying to overcome inadequate and often unacceptable circumstances, while doing our best to meet the physical and mental demands of the sport we love so much.

We hope that by using our platforms to express the reality of our situation, our efforts will be reciprocated. We hope there will be immediate and systematic change within our federation and those in charge of protecting the integrity of women's football.

Sincerely,

The Reggae Girlz

At this time, the Jamaica players are resolute in wanting to make the trip. Notable players like Chicago Red Stars forward Cheyna Matthews were not featured in the latest roster call-up and preparation camp, and that could be because they are holding out due to the way the federation has been operating, but that is purely speculative. 

For now, the team is focused on performing at the highest level it possibly can. Sadly the Jamaica players acknowledge that its potential will have suffered from how the federation has failed to respond to their concerns and call for improved conditions. Both by releasing the statement on Thursday, and by playing in the World Cup in July,  there is hope of raising awareness regarding the improvements that are needed at the Concacaf nation's federation.

Jamaica is on track to head off to Australia at the beginning of July, two weeks before the Reggae Girlz' tournament begins in Sydney.