Jamaica’s women refuse to play in federation dispute
Jamaica’s Women’s World Cup squad say they will not play in their country’s upcoming matches, accusing their football federation of delayed payments and poor management.
The players say that have not received full pay for their World Cup performances or bonuses for qualifying.
They also say they only found out they had a new head coach on social media.
The Reggae Girlz produced a historic performance in the summer, reaching the knockout stages for the first time.
The team are set to travel to Panama on Wednesday, before a home match against Panama four days later, in Concacaf Gold Cup qualifying.
On Friday, the Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) named an inexperienced 23-player squad for the two games.
In a statement, released by several senior players on social media, the Reggae Girlz said: “While this has been one of the hardest decisions we have had to make, we feel it is necessary to take such a drastic stance to put an end to the constant mistreatment we receive from the Jamaica Football Federation.”
The statement accused the JFF of “unprofessional communication” around the naming of new staff, including new manager Xavier Gilbert, who was appointed on Thursday.
It also said the players had not received “full and correct” payments for their World Cup performances, and have “numerous outstanding bonuses” from qualifying in 2022.
The players added: “Due to the current circumstances the JFF has put us in, we would not be able to do our job.
“We take out stance in solidarity with hope to end this cycle of mistreatment”
Dennis Chung, the JFF general secretary, told BBC Sport in a statement that his organisation had written to the Reggae Girlz asking them to “provide an allocation” of how the prize money from the World Cup should be split among players.
Chung said that, when the JFF did not receive anything back, it decided to split the prize money “according to a formula we thought was fair to all” and that the funds have been “sent for processing”.
He said the delayed communication around coaching and support staff was because some staff turned down the chance to work with the squad in October and had to be replaced.
Chung added that the JFF will “address specific issues if there are any” around planning and organisation.
Jamaica’s World Cup squad, featuring Women’s Super League players such as Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw and Tottenham’s Drew Spence, reached the last 16 in Australia and New Zealand after finishing ahead of Brazil in their group.
They were knocked out by Colombia.
Their journey to Australia and New Zealand was also marred by the players’ battle with their own federation, leading to the Reggae Girls writing an open letter, calling for “immediate and systematic change” within the JFF.
At the time the players said they missed official matches because of “extreme disorganisation” and had not “contractually agreed upon compensation”.
The players also claimed to have sat down with the JFF “on multiple occasions” to express their concerns, but “questions go unanswered and concerns unresolved”.