Ricketts hopes to avoid more hurdles
Published:Friday | June 23, 2023 | 12:45 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
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Jamaica Football Federation president Michael Ricketts says he hopes that this time there is light at the end of the tunnel after a local camp was overshadowed by events off the field as the FIFA Women’s World Cup gets closer. The Reggae Girlz...
Jamaica Football Federation president Michael Ricketts says he hopes that this time there is light at the end of the tunnel after a local camp was overshadowed by events off the field as the FIFA Women’s World Cup gets closer.
The Reggae Girlz wrapped up their local training camp on Tuesday, the final one before head coach Lorne Donaldson reveals the final roster that will go to Australia for the World Cup next month. With that announcement expected imminently, the camp has experienced hurdles off the field from the girls releasing a social media post outlining complaints in their preparations to an incident involving JFF women’s committee chairperson Elaine Walker Brown.
Ricketts addressed the matter of the funds that are still owed to the Girlz and said that they are looking to meet with them today.
“We had a discussion with them (on Tuesday), and we will meet with them again (today) just to ensure that we are in a position to make some payments before we actually make these commitments. But all the other issues seem to have been resolved. There are some logistical issues that we really need to sort out as it relates to technical matters,” Ricketts told The Gleaner on Tuesday during the Reggae Girlz send-off party, which concluded the camp. “But we are hopeful and very optimistic that we will get things right and when the players get to Australia, it will be all football.”
TEAM EXCURSION
Ricketts said that the other issues seemed to have been resolved although he referred to last Friday’s incident, which reportedly saw Walker Brown being barred from travelling on the Reggae Girlz bus for a team excursion to Dunn’s River Falls as unnecessary.
“I really do hope this is (the end) because I think this latest development was totally uncalled for,” Ricketts said. “We are working assiduously, and we hope that we get the girls in a frame of mind that they will execute on the field. The coach has repeatedly said that this is a much stronger squad than 2019, and based on that, we hope that we will not just participate, but we will be competitive.”
Ricketts revealed that there is a friendly confirmed with Morocco in Australia as part of the final phase of their preparations, with discussions ongoing to secure a friendly with Belgium while the team is in Amsterdam for their World Cup camp.
“Hopefully, these two games will be adequate in terms of preparation. We will have Morocco, and then before that, we are hoping we can get a game during that 10-day camp in Amsterdam,” Ricketts said.