Hubert Busby focuses on fresh start with Reggae Girlz after controversial exit

Following his controversial departure in 2021 due to allegations of sexual misconduct, Hubert Busby has returned with a fresh outlook after being cleared of any wrongdoing by FIFA.

With the past firmly behind him, Busby is committed to success and progress, aiming to rejuvenate the senior Reggae Girlz setup.

"As you can imagine, it has been a little bit of a whirlwind, but in everything, you just want to make sure you're giving yourself the best opportunity to be successful. Me being successful means giving the players and the program the best chance to be successful, so that's where it's at, and I just need to focus on that. What occurred in the past is neither here nor there for me anymore,” Busby told SportsMax.TV.

While his reappointment may come as a surprise to many, for Busby, it was a matter of letting fate take its course. "I wouldn't know if it was surprised. I think I've always… even through this , I think I've always had a good relationship with the federation, and I understood their rationale and reason why they needed to do what they did. I do wish we could have obviously cleared some things up a lot sooner, but in everything I realized it's not my timing, it is God's timing, and this was just the right time,” he shared.

New beginnings for Reggae Girlz

Despite his familiarity with the players, Busby emphasized a fresh approach rather than picking up where he left off, acknowledging the program's turbulent times since his departure. Following his sidelining, Vinimore ‘Vin’ Blaine took over briefly before resigning due to player dissent. Lorne Donaldson then led the Girlz to a historic knockout stage appearance at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup before the JFF opted not to renew his contract.

Tensions between the JFF and World Cup squad members led to Ambassador Cedella Marley's resignation and the withdrawal of support from the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation. The players also withdrew their services over non-payment and mistreatment. Interim coach Xavier Gilbert managed a failed Gold Cup qualifying campaign and other fixtures.

Now, with Gilbert serving as his assistant and the World Cup players back in the fold, Busby views the current cycle as an opportunity for a fresh start. "It's the beginning of a new cycle. The Girlz created history at the last World Cup and accomplished something that the country and all Jamaicans should be proud of. But really, it's about a new beginning, and with that comes new expectations and a new level of commitment that's needed both on and off the field to ensure success,” Busby declared.

“The first step to every relationship is to have clear and open lines of communication and transparency. I think that's where it starts. We are not always going to agree with everything, but there has to be a common line where we're doing the best we can for the program and the best we can for the people of Jamaica. That should be the guiding principle on which we go forward, but it's going to require a lot of work to ensure that we are communicating and operating at a very high level to ensure the program reaches its full potential,” he added.

Path forward

Busby is confident in the potential and talent pool of the women’s program to continue on the path to success. “There's no doubt that we have a great core of players, and there are also some really young players that emerged in the last nine months that really need to be considered and there are other players that we've been monitoring as well. So, I think the next few windows are really about continuing to evaluate the pool of players to ensure that we're putting together a truly cohesive team that can go into the World Cup qualifiers,” he noted.

The former Jamaican goalkeeper also acknowledged the importance of familiarity in his reappointment. “I think familiarity, obviously would have played a key role in my reappointment for sure. I think this way it allows for the foundational pieces to be built on, because it is important that we continue to build and grow. But above everything else, knowing what the players can do, knowing who they are, and understanding how we can get the best out of them are some things that I want to continue to work on. So, we're looking forward to utilizing each and every window to get ready for 2025,” he stated.

First challenge against Brazil

Busby’s first assignment will be a challenging one, as the team is set to face Brazil in a two-match friendly series on June 1 and June 3. Both teams crossed paths at the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, with Brazil winning the first meeting 3-0, while the Girlz battled gallantly for a goalless stalemate last year to secure a spot in the Round of 16. However, Busby will be without prolific striker Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw and winger Kalyssa 'Kiki' Van Zanten, who are recovering from injuries, while young attacker Solai Washington, part of the World Cup squad, will miss out this time.

“That Brazilian team now has also gone through a tremendous restructuring, they've gone relatively young, but they've also kept some really important players because I think Marta is still there until the end of the year, through the Olympic Games. But they have a lot of talented young players in their system, and they're hungry and dynamic as well, so these two games will pose a lot of questions for us, and I must say I've been impressed with what the new coach has been able to do with them already,” Busby assessed.

“So, for us, I think the idea is, therefore, to try to keep things a little simple. We're going to do the best we can to get our players up to speed in the time that we have them. But this is really the first step in what will be a journey. Obviously, we'll go out there to be competitive, it goes without saying that we've got all these tremendous athletic qualities as a nation, but being able to keep the ball a bit more and be able to dictate the tempo a bit more is something that we want to be able to improve on. But it really is about focusing on the process of getting better each and every camp and each and every time that we're together,” he concluded.