Schneider: More must be done to help local players

Reggae Girlz goalkeeper Sydney Schneider, one of the many overseas-born players in the national squad, says more must be done to improve youth development and opportunities for young female footballers in Jamaica.

Speaking to Radio Prague International in the Czech Republic, Schneider, the Reggae Girlz starting goalkeeper when they qualified for their first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019, admitted that the overseas-born players have better facilities and structure than their local counterparts and believes more must be done to help the local players.

“That’s something that we as a team want to improve. Obviously, young girls especially, are looking up to us and seeing that it’s possible.

“We do have a lot of Jamaica-born players (in the team) as well, to show that from start to finish, their goal can be achieved,” she said. “But definitely something that we would like to improve upon is the youth game and their opportunity to thrive in Jamaica as well. So improving the grass-roots programme is definitely something we want to do.”

More than half of Jamaica’s squad for the recent women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand were born in the United States, with some local supporters arguing that this limits the opportunity for Jamaica-born players.

However, Schneider, who was born in Dayton, New Jersey, in the United States, insists that they have no choice in where they are born but that they are all one blood.

“Jamaicans are all over, whether it’s in Jamaica or just around the world. I mean, we don’t really choose where our parents and grandparents move. So even though we’re not born and raised in Jamaica, we all have and share the same Jamaican blood,” she contends.

IMPRESSIVE

In 2019, the the former Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current goalkeeper in the National Women’s Soccer League was predicted to have many more caps than the 18 she now has for Jamaica, but the 24-year-old has lost her number-one spot to 32-year-old Rebbeca Spencer of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Women’s Super League, who has been nothing short of impressive since she joined the team in 2021.

Although she was second choice to Spencer at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Schneider pointed out that she was set back by a major injury last year. Nevertheless, the Sparta Prague goalkeeper said the competition is good and she continues to fight to regain her number-one spot.

“Leading up to the World Cup I played in a few qualifying games and unfortunately in January 2022 I got hurt. I was in a cast for about six or eight weeks,” she said. “So I was stressed. I was panicking. But coming back into camp the coaches and the team were super welcoming and it was definitely a battle for that starting spot.”

At the start of this year, Schneider decided to join Sparta Prague after not getting much playing time at the Current, and she has not regretted the move.

“I wanted to play. I wanted to be on a competitive team. I wanted to be in a competitive training environment, and most importantly, I feel like, as all players, you want to be on the field.

“Where I was in the past I cannot say anything negative about that, great training, great teammates,

“But the most important thing, and the thing you look forward to, is being on the field for those 90 minutes. That’s what I was mainly looking for. Sparta gave me that opportunity, and I’ve been loving it,” she said.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com