REVEALED: How Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Girlz’ crowdfunded their way to the Women’s World Cup – ahead of sealing historic tie against fifth-ranked France
REVEALED: How Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Girlz’ Crowdfunded Their Way To The Women’s World Cup
- Jamaican players claimed they had not received any payment from the federation
- One of the player’s mothers has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the team
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Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Girlz’, a team 38 spots lower than No. 5 France, held Les Bleues to a scoreless draw on Sunday to score their first-ever Women’s World Cup point.
After that, while the French players seemed gloomy, the Jamaican players hugged each other on the Sydney Football Stadium field and cheered.
To get here, they relied on family, friends and fans to cover some of their expenses.
“The past few years have been tough, frankly,” said goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer. “We always have support from outside the federation that we need. Without them we probably wouldn’t be here.’
In the months leading up to the team’s departure to Australia, Jamaican midfielder Havana Solaun’s mother, Sandra Phillips-Brower, launched a GoFundMe, called Reggae Girlz Rise Up, for the team.
Jamaica’s Paige Bailey-Gayle, Deneisha Blackwood and Jody Brown celebrate their 0-0 draw
The players looked overjoyed on the pitch after sealing a highly unlikely draw against France
Most had written off the Reggae Girlz, but they were a match for the fifth ranked team in Sydney
The GoFundMe raised about $50,000. A separate fundraiser raised more than $45,000 in total.
“My mother is a go-getter,” Solaun said after Sunday’s 0-0 draw. “She’s obviously a huge fan and she was like, ‘I want to help where I can.'”
Last month, the Reggae Girlz released a statement on social media expressing their “biggest disappointment with the Jamaica Football Federation.” Jamaica is one of many women’s World Cup teams that have expressed frustration over wage issues and budget cuts to the national teams.
Jamaica’s players claimed they have not received payment guaranteed in their contracts. Budget constraints have forced Jamaica to miss valuable practice time, including several friendlies leading up to this year’s tournament.
A Jamaica fan shows off her incredible face paint as she watches the match at the stadium
It was a hard fought game and Jamaica eventually managed to come out with a goalless draw
During a pre-match press conference, Jamaican forward Atlanta Primus said the Reggae Girlz will not discuss money issues during the tournament.
“We are very much here to play and that is our primary focus,” she said.
They showed that focus by holding a French team that finished as high as fourth in the Women’s World Cup and reached the semi-finals in 2011. The Reggae Girlz have already qualified once before, in 2019, when they went winless during their group stage matches.
Their next chance to play is against Panama on July 29. The only thing dampening the excitement for the match is the fact that the Reggae Girlz will not have team captain Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, due to a red card she received in stoppage time in Sunday’s match.