Busby ‘excited’ about being back with Reggae Girlz
Published:Thursday | May 16, 2024 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
REAPPOINTED HEAD coach of the Reggae Girlz, Hubert Busby, says he’s excited to be back and is eager to see what lies ahead for the national team.
“I’m excited to be back as this is an exciting group of players. This is also an exciting time in Jamaica’s football with all the things on the horizon and I’m just looking to continue on the foundation and success that this programme has had in the last few years,” said Busby.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) suspended Busby in 2021 following allegations of sexual misconduct made by former Vancouver Whitecaps player Malloree Enoch while he coached the team from 2010 to 2011.
He has since been cleared of those allegations.
Busby’s first order of business will be to prepare the team for a two-match friendly international against South American giants, Brazil, on June 1 and 4 in Salvador, Brazil.
“I’m really looking forward to starting this camp and getting us back to ultimately the next World Cup. There’s a lot of work to do in the short space of time as the core of the team hasn’t been together for about nine months. There’s a lot of work being done behind the scenes in watching Brazil and getting organised. More importantly, some of the objectives from this is to reset the culture and objectives,” explained Busby.
The Reggae Girlz will welcome back a host of players who featured at the 2023 World Cup and according to Busby, there will be a lot at stake in the upcoming matches.
“Watching their last five games, they’re going through a cycle as they’re matriculating a lot of their young players into the group. This is [also] going to be somewhat of a send-off match as this will be Marta’s last game in Brazil before she retires. There will also be a revenge factor from what happened at the World Cup, so we have to manage all of that and get this team prepared for these matches.”
While his focus is on the senior team, the increase in teams from 16 to 24 ahead of the Under-17 World Cup has also caught Busby’s eye, bearing in mind the need to have young players matriculate into the Reggae Girlz setup.
“It’s really important for the emerging nations like ourselves because the funding and support needs to be in place for that development to happen year round. That will be the springboard for us to develop more local talents and allow them to matriculate to the senior team.”