It took 221 minutes of football for Jamaica to concede their first goal at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. A rare defensive lapse just after half-time in their knockout tie against Colombia, ruthlessly punished by Colombia’s all-time leading goalscorer Catalina Usme, ended Jamaica’s fairytale run. Jamaica desperately prodded at the Colombian defense, with Drew Spence coming closest to finding an equalizer with a header drifting narrowly wide of the post, but it was not meant to be.
Jamaican head coach Lorne Donaldson dutifully congratulated the Colombian team and the girls followed his example through tears of disappointment. Jerseys were swapped and hugs were shared before the Jamaican fans clapped the team members who made the trip and headed down the tunnel. While it might be the end of their tournament run, it’s undoubtedly the beginning of a new chapter in Jamaican football.
Making it through the Group Stage
When Jamaica was drawn into Group F, many experts wrote them off from qualifying to the knockouts. Yet, the talent was undeniable. Captain Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, finished 2nd in the golden boot race for top goalscorer in the English Women’s Super League leading Manchester City to an improbable title race. Rebecca Spencer, goalkeeper for Tottenham Hot Spurs, has over a decade of top-flight experience and there was no doubt she could marshal a defense.
But the reality was stark — France and Brazil are storied footballing powerhouses. There is a pedigree of excellence and large differences in available resources. At the last World Cup, Jamaica finished bottom of their group, only scoring one goal and conceding twelve times.
With Shaw upfront, and in scintillating form, in combination with darting runs from wingers Trudi Carter and Kalyssa Van Zanten, Jamaica was expected to be an attacking force that was leaky at the back.
Instead the Reggae Girlz scored one goal the entire tournament, an Allyson Swaby header against Panama, but were the best defensive team at the competition. Spencer was in imperious form, blunting a France attack that put 4 past Monaco, 6 past Panama, and 2 past Brazil.
In the final match of the group stage, Jamaica played against Brazil, anything other than a loss would send the Girlz home. They put on a heroic rearguard performance, frustrating the Brazilians for 90 minutes. At the final whistle the team collapsed in ecstasy. Shaw, usually stoic, fell to her knees and screamed.
Marta, Brazilian veteran and one of the game’s all time greats, embraced Shaw, and encouraged her and the team to keep pushing not just in this tournament, but as a footballing nation.
In the post match conference, Shaw shared what the legend said. “She just said that she’s watched our journey, ever since we qualified, and she credits us because every time we get knocked down, we still get up and keep pushing.”
Shaw continued, “I just told her that she’s not just an inspiration for me, but for a lot of young girls in the Caribbean and around the world,” Shaw said. It was a passing of the torch and an acknowledgement of a nation on the rise.
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Cedella Marley: The driving force behind Jamaica’s women’s football team
The Women’s Team vs The JFF
The Reggae Girlz are one of the feel good stories of this tournament. A plucky team from a small nation pushing against giants, and ultimately pushing past them to reach depths of the World Cup the nation has never seen before — this run is the furthest a Jamaican team has made it in a World Cup.
This is in spite of a complete lack of support from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) who has twice slashed the program after mediocre results. Most recently the Women’s team was disbanded in 2010 through lack of funding and would not be resuscitated in 2014 if not for the intervention of Cedella and Rita Marley, the daughter and widow respectively of reggae legend Bob Marley.
Despite Khadija Shaw’s rising star and the prevalence of talent competing in top leagues in England and the US, the women’s team struggled to secure funding yet again to adequately prepare for and attend the Women’s World Cup
Shaw speaking with English striking legend of Caribbean heritage, Ian Wright.
“The camps are inconsistent and that comes down to finances,” Marlo Sweatman, who missed the final selection, told The Athletic. “When we have no big tournaments coming up, training sessions and friendlies get canceled. Even in the lead-up to a World Cup or other big tournaments, there are always a bunch of little problems which come in. It just seems sometimes it’s not run very smoothly.”
A month before the tournament kicked off, the squad released via social media the realities of representing the club and the lack of support from the JFF. “On multiple occasions, we have sat down with the federation to respectfully express concerns resulting from subpar planning, transportations, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition, and accessibility to proper resources,” the statement read. It goes without saying that all of these are the bare minimum requirement for the operation of a football team.
At the time of writing, Sandra Brower, mother to Jamaican International midfielder Solaun Brower, has raised over $76,000 USD on the team’s GoFundMe page.
“The journey to Australia in July of 2023 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,” she shared in the latest statement on the page.
In April, Jamaica’s Minister of Sport Olivia Grange, announced that the government would provide almost $130,000 USD to cover player stipends, nutrition, and training related expenses. The Reggae Girlz Foundation (RGF) has raised over $50,000 USD through a fundraising campaign. Cedella Marley continued to support the team through private partnerships established via the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation and Adidas, the kit sponsor, facilitated a 10-day training camp at their facilities in the Netherlands.
Now the spotlight is on the JFF to see what happens next. The Reggae Girlz have captured the hearts of the international game and the organization is now under scrutiny from both FIFPRO (the player’s union) and the Jamaican public themselves.
