Donaldson: Girlz fully focused on World Cup
Published:Tuesday | June 20, 2023 | 1:07 AM
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Jamaica’s senior women’s head coach Lorne Donaldson says the protest letter sent to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has not been a distraction for the team and he insists they are fully focused and committed ahead of the FIFA Women’s World...
Jamaica’s senior women’s head coach Lorne Donaldson says the protest letter sent to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has not been a distraction for the team and he insists they are fully focused and committed ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup which kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
The players all signed a letter written to the federation recently complaining about compensation, proper accommodation and training facilities.
Despite the outburst so close to the start of the showpiece, Donaldson is convinced the players are still fully focused on preparing for the tournament.
“Absolutely not a distraction,” he told The Gleaner yesterday. “I think the girls are committed, the focus is there and we are moving along. So there is no distraction with these girls.”
The Reggae Girlz ended their local pre-World Cup training camp with a squad match at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday and Donaldson said he will naming his 23-player squad for the tournament before the July 10 deadline for squad submissions to FIFA.
Donaldson said one of the main aims of the camp was reducing the squad for the World Cup, and he wants to name the squad before they depart for their Amsterdam training camp on July 1.
“Overall, I thought it was a really good camp. We wanted to get games during this time but it didn’t happen.
“Our main objective was to get down to 23 players. So now we have to get back as coaches and evaluate, which is difficult as somebody will be left behind,” he said.
“We have to (look to select squad before July 10) because we have our main camp in Amsterdam on July 1 and we have to get tickets.
“So we are hoping that by June 25 we can come up with a 23, although we want to carry 24 players just in case,” he said.
The lack of an international friendly for the players during the June 11-20 camp has been a major sticking point for local football observers.
However, Donaldson assured that they are still hunting a game or two for the Amsterdam camp.
The team will take a break after they break camp in Jamaica, before they regroup for departure to the Netherlands at the start of July.
“This (break) has been planned for the last four months. We don’t have a two-week break. We gave them a few days off and then we regroup and go straight into Amsterdam.
“We are trying to (tie up another game). We have been going back and forth with Australia and we are trying to tie up a game in Holland. So we are still looking,” he declared.