WHEN THE Reggae Girlz open their Concacaf W Qualifiers campaign against Dominica on Saturday, head coach Hubert Busby Jr will be looking for a strong performance from his players to set the tone for their qualifying campaign.
Jamaica will face Dominica at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in their Group B opening game.
Speaking in a press conference yesterday, where he announced his squad, Busby said it will be important for the team to start with a win.
“It’s important that we have a strong performance, and we’re laying the foundation for strong performances throughout this campaign,” he said.
“We want to get off to a great start, have a great week of training leading into the match, and we’re approaching each and every match with the respect it deserves,” Busby continued.
“Our preparation this week will be thorough, to ensure that when we go out there, we’re firing on all cylinders and to the best of our abilities.”
The Girlz are on the hunt for their third consecutive appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, following back-to-back appearances in 2019 and 2023.
Busby said he is looking forward to a successful campaign and has selected a mixture of both experience and youth.
The head coach explained one of his main criteria in his selection process has been to look at players who are actively competing in a professional environment and have shown good form with their clubs and schools.
“One of the things, each and every week, even coming out of the last camp, was just seeing how the players were doing within their environments, the minutes that they were playing, and being in form was a really big part. It’s always a big part,” Busby explained.
“The players who haven’t been selected, it’s because of the same criteria,” he continued,
“They just have not been playing enough matches within the last six weeks. So we wanted to make sure, in a short period of time, that we had players who were playing, for the most part, regularly, or they’re in professional or college environments.”
While the team is missing its captain and stalwart defender Allyson Swaby, they have been bolstered in the attack with the return of Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw.
Shaw, who last wore the national colours in an international friendly against South Africa in December last year, has been absent from the squad due to injuries.
Busby said the players are all expected to arrive in St Lucia by tomorrow. He said the players are eager to take to the field to begin their march to the W Championships and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I believe we are prepared and eager to get going. We had a really good camp, about a month ago now in Trinidad, through some very testing times with all that was going on.
“The players are focused and the staff and the support around the team did very well. We had a very good camp and I thought they did very well, considering.”
Jamaica are drawn in Group B of the W Qualifiers, alongside Dominica, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Antigua and Barbuda. The winner of the group will advance to the Concacaf W Championships.
The W Championships will serve as the region’s qualification tournament for the World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The top four teams from the W Championships will advance to the World Cup, while the top three teams will advance to the LA Olympic Games.
The next best two teams will advance to the intercontinental play-offs for a second chance at World Cup qualification.
