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Signed, sealed, delivered! - Reggae Girlz put pen to paper on long-awaited contracts

Published:Monday | May 20, 2019 | 12:21 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
National striker Khadija Shaw (11) celebrates a goal with teammates during their friendly international match against Panama at the National Stadium last night.
National striker Khadija Shaw (11) celebrates a goal with teammates during their friendly international match against Panama at the National Stadium last night.

Jamaica Football Fed-eration (JFF) General secretary Dalton Wint says the contractual impasse with the senior national women’s football team is over.

After the Reggae Girlz’s historic qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France next month, the JFF and the members of the team and its coaching staff disagreed about compensation packages and were locked in intense and prolonged negotiations.

However, at the weekend, Wint said that as promised, all contractual matters between the JFF, the players and technical staff were sorted out and that the Girlz are now ready to focus on the task ahead of them.

“It was done over the period that we have promised (Panama camp),” he said. “We had promised the nation that we would not go into the World Cup with any unresolved matters, so we have resolved it.

“We don’t want any distractions that will prevent these ladies from giving of their optimum (at the World Cup), so we are absolutely delighted to come to an amicable settlement to this contract feud. If I were in their position, I would be a lot more comfortable than I was before,” he added.

MOOD LIFTED

Reggae Girlz team manager Jean Nelson said the team is very pleased to finally get the signings over with, lifting the mood in the camp ahead of their departure for the World Cup.

“It’s been a long time coming, and it just came to fruition, so they are in a very good mood,” she said. “But they say it’s historic because this is the first women’s team in the Caribbean to sign contracts, as it’s usually the males. So it’s a good look.”

“This team has gone through a lot of stuff, so it doesn’t matter what they go through. At the end of the day, they are always focused when it comes to game time and I guess that is what is different about this team than other teams I have managed before.”