Jamaica women’s national team manager Lorne Donaldson is of the view football can be the leading sport for women in the country thanks to the giant strides made at the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Reggae Girlz made their debut at the Mundial four years ago in France but finished with no points on that occasion and crashed out in the group stage.
Their fortunes have changed massively in Australia and New Zealand where they first recorded a goalless draw with France for their first-ever point before bagging their first win in a 1-0 victory over Panama. Jamaica are now within reach of making it to the knockout stage in just their second outing and Donaldson says there is a lot more belief in the team compared to four years ago which he claims was a period of naivety.
“At the last World Cup, we were young, we were naïve. We were, as I say, a deer in a headlight,” he told FIFA+
“Maybe it’s a kangaroo in a headlight in Australia! We have a lot more belief, plus we have a little bit of a better team. With the coaching staff and the technical staff, we have a lot more belief we can go further. We just asked for one thing: give us a chance on the last day. That was our wish.
“I think people are getting behind the team now, which is good. Because before I wondered if women’s football would ever take root in Jamaica. The support, we can see it in the stands right here – they show a lot of those clips in Jamaica.
“I’m getting messages from people I haven’t spoken to in 30 years, showing their support for the team. People are waking up early in the morning in Jamaica, watching the games. I think it’s good for sports overall, and especially for women’s sport in Jamaica.
“I know we have netball and volleyball going on. Kudos to them, I think they’re doing well. But we can take the lead, as women’s footballers, for women’s sports in Jamaica. Track and field has always been the gem. We can go up there and elevate all women’s sports in Jamaica.”
Jamaica will take on Brazil in their final Group F game at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Wednesday and will be boosted by the return of captain Khadija Shaw who was suspended for the Panama game due to the two yellow cards she received in the opener against France.
Donaldson says Jamaica need to alert defensively as Brazil will be desperate for victory and will attack aggressively. He also stressed on the importance of his team getting a goal.
“‘Bunny’ Shaw is back, but she’s just one player. We have to be ready to get after Brazil,” he concluded.
“Brazil is going to get after us. They have to win the game, so they’re going to throw everything at us. We have to make sure, as a collective unit defensively, we’re good. But we have to try to get something. We can’t just sit back and say, ‘Let’s just defend all the way’. We have to play both ways. We have to go for goals.”
The other battle for qualification to the knockout phase will see France take on already-eliminated Panama in Sydney.
