It hasn’t taken long for Lorne Donaldson to secure a new job. The former Reggae Girlz head coach has been appointed head coach Chicago Red Stars in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Donaldson previously coached Jamaica's women's national team, which he led to their historic run to the knockout rounds in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The 68-year-old Donaldson has coached various youth teams from club level to international level. He spent time as Jamaica's U17 head coach and was a U20 and full national team assistant before being named fulltime head coach of the Reggae Girlz.

"Lorne is the right person to lead us next season," said newly appointed club president Karen Leetzow. "Lorne's experiences as a decorated player and as a winning coach on the youth, professional, and international level will be invaluable for our players, coaches, and staff who have the opportunity to learn from him."

Donaldson’s whose contract was inexplicably not renewed following the success of the Jamaica senior women’s team expressed his delight at being selected to lead the Red Stars.

"I'm excited to work with this talented team that includes some of the NWSL's best players to turn the Chicago Red Stars into a championship club both on and off the pitch," said Donaldson. "I look forward to partnering with Laura Ricketts and Karen Leetzow, who are committed to creating a culture of excellence and accountability. What I have most enjoyed in my career is coaching elite athletes and helping them reach and exceed their fullest potential."

SportsMax.TV has been reliably informed that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) intends to retain members of the senior Reggae Girlz technical staff to work with the incoming Head coach, who is expected to be named on Friday.

Xavier Gilbert, Ak Lakhani and Laura Thomas, who were all assistants to former Head coach Lorne Donaldson, are said to be in discussion with the JFF, but their involvement is pending the agreement of terms on a new contract. It is uncertain if fitness coach Will Hitzelberger and goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead have also been engaged.

Their previous contracts expired on September 30, along with Donaldson’s, but the JFF hierarchy opted not to renew the outspoken coach’s contract.

A source close to the situation revealed that the move to retain Gilbert, Lakhani and Thomas, is for familiarity purposes, given the success they had with the Girlz under Donaldson’s leadership.

Donaldson and his assistants, who were appointed in 2022, led the Reggae Girlz to a second-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, they had an historic run to the round of 16, after goalless results with France and Brazil, and victory over Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made over the past year, is without question.

“They (the assistant coaches) are good man. I don’t think they (JFF hierarchy) will be letting anyone else go, it was just Donaldson. I am almost 90 percent certain that the assistants will stay on,” a source who requested anonymity shared.

Another interesting development is the fact that Jonathan Morgan, who found favour with the JFF Technical Committee in the past, is among those shortlisted for the Girlz top job.

Morgan was expected to take the reins in 2022, but later received an offer from Burnley Women’s team and opted out of the race, which resulted in Donaldson taking charge.

Now back, the Englishman is said to be facing stiff competition from two other overseas coaches, both females, who were not named.

It is understood that all three have already been interviewed, with the Technical Committee expected to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors in short order.

The 37th-ranked Reggae Girlz will be back in action for Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualification in less than two weeks, as they are scheduled to visit Panama on October 25, before returning home to face Guatemala on October 29.

They will then host Panama on November 29 and close away to Guatemala on December 3.

Former Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Tony James says the recent move to cut Lorne Donaldson from the Reggae Girlz programme, could prove the final nail in the coffin of the Michael Ricketts-led administration, as he believes their chances of retaining leadership of the country’s football were already slim.

James –like many football enthusiasts at home and abroad –has always been critical of Ricketts’s leadership and even felt he should have relinquished the post last year when the senior Reggae Boyz players called for the scalp of then general secretary Dalton Wint.  

At that point, James said Ricketts lacked the requisite acumen to continue leading the sport’s local governing body, as he failed to accept responsibility for the chaos that has unfolded in Jamaica’s football over the past few years with players and some coaches consistently expressing discontent at the constant “lack of respect, transparency and communication” from the JFF hierarchy.

Now thrown in the spotlight once again with the non-renewal of Donaldson’s contract, and the elections due by year end, James thinks it might just result in Ricketts and administration’s demise.

Donaldson, who was appointed in 2022, led the Reggae Girlz to a second-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.

“The upcoming election is the exact reason why that decision with Lorne is poor. If you have an election in a couple of weeks, why are you going to make a move like this.

“You have a lame duck presidency and administration why are you going to take on a massive investment for a national women’s coach when JFF is still in restrictive financing, why would you want to do that now. So that decision is a matter of bad timing,” James said in a recent interview with Sportsmax.tv.

By virtue of hiring a new coach, James argues that the Reggae Girlz programme will be unnecessarily reset, when there are other areas of the country’s football that needs more attention.

“The schoolboy football needs to be reset, the academy programme needs to be reset and the parishes, the most important on the agenda heading into the elections, have to be reset,” he asserted.

For the upcoming elections, Ricketts, who has been in power since 2017, will be challenged by current vice-president Raymond Anderson.

Anderson, who has served in previous administrations has the likes of former Cricket West Indies President Dave Cameron, Marketing Strategist Cecile Dennis, Kingston and St Andrew Football Association President Mark Bennett and St Thomas Football Association President Wayne Thompson, on his campaign team.

Last year's changes to the JFF's constitutional reform will result in an increase in delegates from 13 –previously consisted solely of parish confederation presidents –to 56, comprising more stakeholders.

James also took issues with those changes.

“Everything seems to be wrong structurally about what they are doing. The election of the parishes comes three months after the JFF elections, and what exist now is a corrupt construct, you can’t have a corrupt construct electing a president and a new board for a four-year term. You should have the election for the parishes first and then out of that election you elect a new JFF board,” James opined.

“The thing is that when you have a corrupt construct that exist in the JFF, the majority of people that are going to vote are people you have to appeal to, to vote for you. So, if you accept the fact that the parishes, especially the rural parishes, some of them are extremely weak and extremely poor in their structure, you have to correct that first or at least attempt to correct that.

“But they are going for votes rather to correct the structure and if the structure is not corrected no matter who gets there (the presidency) then it won’t make a difference. Because you're trying to get football moving forward and get football resilient which means you have to always be moving forward without moving back. Instead, what has been happening now is that you take two steps forward one step back you need everybody in the same boat moving in the same direction,” he ended.

As the dust continues to settle on the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) controversial non-renewal of Lorne Donaldson’s contract to head the Reggae Girlz programme, former JFF president Tony James believes the outcome could have been different had both parties tempered their egos.

James is of the view that neither the Michael Ricketts-led JFF, represented by general secretary Dennis Chung, nor Donaldson really considered the bigger picture, which was to place the Reggae Girlz and their progress at the forefront of the decision-making process to arrive at a more amicable settlement.  

In fact, while noting that Donaldson’s outspoken personality may have led to his ousting, James was by no means reserved in his criticism of the JFF, especially given the Girlz overwhelming success under the outgoing coach’s leadership.

 “No responsible organization is going to have its employees in the public making negative comments about the federation. The JFF has the authority to run football in Jamaica and there can be no questions about that and then there is the case of everybody having an ego which is not such a bad thing,” James remarked.

“The issue is that when you are excessive then you have a problem, so the ego has to be balanced. I am not approving one side; both sides needed to temper their ego and place the Girlz at the centre of their issues. Everybody is on a tangent and once you put the Girlz at the centre and they (JFF) apply good governance principles, I don’t think you would have had the same result,” he told Sportsmax.tv.

James argued that the national development of football should always be of utmost priority for the JFF hierarchy and its Technical Committee, despite personal feelings.

As such, he believes the decision to cut the country’s most successful coach, should have been discussed with certain stakeholders, to include women’s football ambassador Cedella Marley, who has significantly invested in the programme.

It was Marley, who first introduced Donaldson and former Head coach Hue Menzies to the Reggae Girlz programme in 2015, and the two led the country to an historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019.

However, after Menzies departed the programme in late 2019, Donaldson followed suit a few months later, but was reappointed in June 2022, to replace Vinimore “Vin” Blaine, who was forced to resign a few months into his tenure after the players expressed their displeasure with his leadership in a scathing letter.

Like he did in 2019, Donaldson again led the Reggae Girlz to the World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, where they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.

“You can’t take sides, you have to look on every stakeholder and see what they are bringing to the table and if you have good governance principles then you should discuss it with at least the major stakeholders.

“Cedella Marley is a major stakeholder, have they discussed it with Cedella Marley?” James questioned.

“And in all this the Girlz should be the front of the equation, there are representatives of the Girlz who are very vocal and very focused, you should have called them in and say ‘listen, here is our position. What is your view because I am sure they are going to get a view that is not in agreement with that decision by the JFF,” James continued.

The former football boss also took issue with the JFF’s widely circulated release stating that the decision to part ways was with Donaldson was mutual, as the coach refuted the claims and revealed that the meeting with Chung and JFF’s Human Resource Manager Suzie George-Gayle, lasted a mere five minutes.

The JFF statement said, “after an extended discussion, both parties came to an agreement that the contract would not be renewed.”

James said this again called the JFF’s character into question.

“And again, that is against governance principles. Discussion and respect are a part of good governance principles, so a five-minute thing, I don’t know what you call that, it is just disrespectful,” he opined.

“If the context of what the man [Donaldson] said is true, the press release emanating from that is also false then, because it said that they were in agreement. So, once it says that, and you bring false into it, then it doesn’t put JFF in a good light because there are other things people are going to assume are false,” James noted.

Upon reflection, James recalled the fact that Donaldson was not the initial first choice for the JFF from the onset.

It was Englishman Jonathan Morgan, who found favour with the JFF Technical Committee. However, Morgan later received an offer from Burnley Women’s team and opted out of the race for the Girlz top job, which resulted in Donaldson taking the reins.

“I think that is what is ticking off the JFF, the fact that coach Lorne Donaldson was not selected by them. So, what is embarrassing to the Technical Committee is that they chose someone [Morgan] and Cedella Marley chose a different person [Donaldson] and that person has worked miracles,” James reasoned.

“So, people should be willing to eat humble pie in the context of national importance given the success and progress made in that (World Cup) campaign and say alright let us look at it (Donaldson’s contract) again.

“From there, they could then lay down the plan, not only to Lorne, but to everybody in the national programme that you have to seek permission to speak on certain matters and if you don’t follow the guideline, you will be severely sanctioned,” he explained.

“But the thing with the Girlz programme is that you don’t know who has the authority to speak because you don’t hear anything from anybody else. So, I am not sure who is making the decision for the JFF, if it is the Technical Committee or the Board of Directors, nobody really knows, so apparently all legislation is left to this fellow [Chung],” James ended.

The Jamaica Football Federation has reportedly identified potential candidates to fill the head coaching vacancy with the Senior Women’s National Team.

The position was opened after the JFF decided not to renew the contract of former head coach, Lorne Donaldson, after the team lost a pair of Olympic Qualifying fixtures to Canada in September.

“The interviewing process will begin this week, as we have received a number of applications from experienced and qualified individuals. Soon, a short list will be selected for final interviews. Importantly, this also includes the reengagement of members of the coaching and technical staff,” a post on the federation’s Instagram page stated on Monday.

“The JFF is committed to ensuring that the women’s program is given the best opportunity to succeed and continue the significant accomplishments that have brought much pride to Jamaica,” the statement continued.

Donaldson was appointed Reggae Girlz head coach in June 2022 and led the national women’s team to their second consecutive qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the World Cup, he took Jamaica to a historic round of 16 after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

Outgoing senior Reggae Girlz Head coach Lorne Donaldson stopped just short of saying he is the victim of a personal vendetta waged against him by Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung, as he refuted claims about how discussions to cut ties, transpired.

Donaldson in response to a widely circulated release by the JFF, pointed out that the decision not to renew his contract was by no means mutual, as the meeting with Chung and JFF’s Human Resource Manager Suzie George-Gayle, lasted a mere five minutes.

The JFF in its statement said, “after an extended discussion, both parties came to an agreement that the contract would not be renewed.”

But Donaldson in an interview with Sportsmax.tv, rubbished the claims.

 “He [Chung] said they are terminating me. There was no discussion. In a five-minute meeting, he just said congrats on everything and the next thing was, ‘we will not renew your contract.’ There was no reason why, or anything, he just said, we will not renew your contract,” he shared.

Donaldson, along with former Head coach Hue Menzies, was first introduced to the Reggae Girlz programme by women’s football ambassador Cedella Marley in 2015 and led the country to an historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019.

However, after departing the programme in 2020, following the steps of Menzies, who left earlier in 2019, Donaldson was reappointed in June 2022, to replace Vinimore “Vin” Blaine, who was forced to resign a few months into his tenure, after the Girlz expressed their displeasure with his leadership in a scathing letter.

Like he did in 2019, Donaldson again led the Reggae Girlz to the World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, where they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.

The tactician doesn’t believe he was judged on that basis.

“Another thing he said is that if they had done well with the Olympic qualifiers, we (the coaching staff) would have carried on. You don’t want to work in a condition where you are being judged based on one game and not your body of work. So, I guess what happened at the World Cup didn’t matter and it never really had anything to do with football,” Donaldson opined.

“It’s because I disagreed with the way they want to treat players and coaches, and I defended the Girlz. They have been waiting for the opportunity to do this (get rid of me) because they have been trying to do this from June,” he added.

The outspoken coach recalled a conversation in which he and Chung didn’t see eye-to-eye and he believes it was from that point that their relationship spiralled.

“From day one when he said women’s football will never catch on in Jamaica and people will never support women’s football, and I told him he is wrong, I realised the relationship has been topsy-turvy since then,” Donaldson revealed.

He continued: “He said nobody cares about women’s football in Jamaica and it doesn’t matter how bad the men’s team is, the men will get more support than the women. That was when we were trying to go to Australia for the (Cup of Nations) tournament and from that day I knew we are always going to be fighting for these Girlz because it revealed to me that they really don’t care about the Girlz.

“He was trying to justify why we shouldn’t have gone to the tournament in Australia, all because they were spending a little money, even though Australia was spending some money as well. And then he came up with these ridiculous flight prices and I said no, it is way less than that. And from February on, he was total against everything that we were doing.”

Despite sensing Chung’s perceived dislike, Donaldson explained that it was his duty as Head coach to remain resolute in his fight for the players, who sometimes felt disheartened by the show of support, or lack thereof, from the country’s governing football body in particular.

“We had to stand up for the Girlz and I stick to that. When they are right, we fought for them and when they were wrong, I told them. And then we had to make sure they had the resources that we can have them perform,” Donaldson said.

“It showed the other day when we didn’t have the proper equipment for them to train. There was no equipment on the first day of camp and stuff like that affected the Girlz because they didn’t feel the love. They kept saying people didn’t care.

“They just went to a World Cup and see all around the world how everybody (other countries) is speaking glowingly of their team, and they come to Jamaica and can’t even get the proper equipment,” he reasoned.

That said, Donaldson wished the JFF and Reggae Girlz well on their future endeavours, starting with the upcoming Concacaf Women's Gold Cup qualifying matches against Panama and Guatemala, next month.

“The JFF, whatever they have planned for the Girlz, I hope they are successful with it, and I wish them all the best from the bottom of my heart. They made a decision, and I am fine with that,” he declared.

“We have a great group of players that are going to come in, and what we have achieved is basically a scratch on the surface because the sky is the limit with this group of Girlz,” Donaldson ended.

Meanwhile, Chung when contacted about the allegations, was reluctant to address what transpired during the meeting.

“I don’t want to comment on those decisions (made during the meeting), I don’t know where those comments are coming from, but from an ethical point of view, I’m just not going to comment on it. We issued a release, and the release speaks for itself,” Chung told Sportsmax.tv.

However, he admitted to an extent that the February conversation in Montego Bay did happen, but not exactly how it was stated by Donaldson.

“I never said that people don’t care about women’s football, I don’t know where that is coming from. What I have said in the past is that no matter how well the women do, it seems like people tend to support the men more in terms of attendance at matches and that is something that has been said internationally. So, I was just echoing it because someone said it on a sports programme I was listening to,” Chung explained.

 “It is an unfortunate comment that he made, but I didn’t listen to it, because the fact is that the JFF has spent a lot more money on the women’s programme than the men’s programme and in terms of resourcing it, has given it equal footing, if not more.

“So, it’s a very unfortunate comment if that was said because when you talk about sponsorship, most of the sponsors have come in for the women’s programme, so that was very unfortunate,” he argued.

When asked about the possible timeline for Donaldson’s replacement given the significance of the upcoming fixtures, Chung said information should be forthcoming by Monday.

 “We are working to ensure that a team is in place so I’m sure that by Monday we will have that sorted in terms of what we are doing. So, something is being worked on and the JFF will communicate that,” Chung noted.

Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz 2-1 loss to Canada on Tuesday, was Head Coach Lorne Donaldson’s last match in charge of the Jamaica Senior Women’s Football squad as according to the Jamaica Football Federation, his contract will not be renewed.

Donaldson was appointed Reggae Girlz head coach in June 2022 and led the national women’s team to their second consecutive qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the World Cup, he took Jamaica to a historic round of 16 after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 1-0 loss to Colombia.

The Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris but the progress the team has made under his leadership is without question. However, according to the JFF, following a meet with the coach, whose contract comes to an end on September 30, they will be looking for a new head coach.

“The Jamaica Football Federation and Coach Lorne Donaldson had a meeting to discuss his contract as the Senior Women's Team coach. After an extended discussion, both parties came to an agreement that the contract would not be renewed,” the JFF said in a statement Friday.

“The JFF wishes to place on record, our thanks to Lorne for his services to Jamaica's football over the years, and specially making us proud at the recent Women’s World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, and we are confident that he will have unlimited success in his future endeavors and wish him the very best.”

The development means the Reggae Girlz will be without a head coach for the upcoming CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup qualifying matches in less than a month. However, the JFF states, “We will immediately put the machinery in place to have competent staff in place for this important competition.”

With their Concacaf Olympic qualifying chapter now closed, as they failed to rewrite the history books, Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz and coaching staff will not only have to pick up the pieces, but also come up with new ideas to ensure the programme's continued progress, as they now shift focus to the Gold Cup qualifying campaign.

The Girlz, who were seeking to become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for women's football at the Olympic Games, suffered a 1-4 aggregate defeat to reigning Olympic champions Canada after 0-2 and 1-2 losses across the two-leg home-and-away playoff.

Those victories ensured Canada the second automatic spot for both the Olympic Games and Gold Cup respectively, joining United States, who were already qualified by virtue of topping last year's Concacaf Women’s Championships in Mexico. 

For the Girlz it is back to the proverbial drawing board with much to contemplate, as their defence, particularly on the left, and midfield in the playoff fixtures, were a shadow of what it was when they held Brazil and France to goalless stalemates at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia.

While they are expecting the Girlz to bounce back against Panama and Guatemala next month, assistant coach Xavier Gilbert says it is hard for the coaching staff to really think too far ahead, as uncertainty surrounds the renewal of their contracts which expire on Saturday. 

"It's difficult to say what our plans are going forward. Our contract ends on the 30th of September, and we are yet to hear anything from the Jamaica Football Federation, so we don't know what will happen after this. We don't know if we will be the staff in charge of the unit, but it's still a good unit and I think they are going to do well against those opposition next month regardless," Gilbert told SportsMax.tv.

Reflecting on the performances against Canada, Gilbert, though admitting their shortcomings in certain areas, credited the Girlz for the fight shown, particularly in Tuesday's second-leg at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto. 

"I think the performance wasn't bad. We wanted to score at least one before the half-time break and we got that go-ahead goal. Unfortunately, we conceded, and I think that set us back again, but it was a good effort, and it just goes to show how much we are growing in the region and on the world stage.

"So, I have to give the Girlz credit, they held their own in a hostile environment…yes, there were some lapses in concentration and there was an overload on the left side again and when you make certain errors you pay the price, especially against quality opposition and that's what happened last night," Gilbert reasoned.

"I don't think the issue is only at the left back because we know what they (Canada) were doing and we should have prevented that. The Canadian team did well the way they pulled our left back out and exploited the spaces behind. But we have to give more help and support in in that area and then we also have to be a little bit more positive on that side too, so that we can push the overlap and get forward more often," he added.

On that note, Gilbert revealed that the players accepted responsibility for the lukewarm performance and, by extension, not being able to give the country something more to celebrate.

“They are disappointed because they really wanted to make the country proud. Some of them even broke down in tears after the game, but we just have to pick ourselves up and go again,” Gilbert shared.

He continued: “Like I said, we did well in terms of where we are on the world stage right now because playing against Canada, everybody would have expected at least 4-0, as those are the defeats that we used to get against these oppositions. So I believe we are now closing the gap and things are changing and those are the positives that we have to take from this.

“We are getting closer and closer because again, no one would have thought, even years gone by and probably even now, that we would have been so competitive against Canada, who are the defending Olympic champions, so let’s not forget that.”

Finally, Gilbert pointed out that should the Lorne Donaldson-led remain in charge of the programme, they will be aiming to add more players to the pool, to not only remedy their defensive and midfield concerns, but also to ensure continuity.

“For sure, we want to continue on the same path widen the pool of players, especially in certain areas that we think we need it and continue to give other players opportunities so that we can have a wider pool to select from and make it more competitive in every position,” he ended.

Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz battled bravely, but were unable to deny Canada, who registered a 2-1 scoreline in second-leg action of the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying playoff, on their return home at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto, on Tuesday.

Unlike the first leg at Jamaica’s National Stadium where they were easy 2-0 winners, Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, came from behind on this occasion, to wrap up a 4-1 aggregate win and join United States as the confederation’s representatives in next year’s Paris Games.

Cloe Lacasse (39th) and substitute Jordyn Huitema (50th), did the damage for Bev Priestman’s side, after Drew Spence’s 33rd-minute strike offered Lorne Donaldson and his Reggae Girlz a glimmer of hope.

While Canada, by virtue of the win, also confirmed the second automatic spot in the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup, the Jamaicans will have to quickly regain their confidence for meetings with Panama and Guatemala next month, which represents their opportunity to secure Gold Cup qualification.

Tuesday’s task for was always expected to be a difficult one for the Reggae Girlz, as Canada, playing at home for the first time in over a year, were brimming with confidence on the back of a two-goal advantage from the first leg.

Though Donaldson ringed in the changes, five to be exact, with talismanic striker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw and Jody Brown, out with injuries, it meant little to the Canadians, who went about business in a no-nonsense manner.

They required only two minutes to fire the first warning shot, as Adriana Leon unleashed from just outside the 18-yard box, but the effort was swallowed up by Rebecca Spencer, who produced another workmanlike performance in goal for Jamaica.

As Canada continued to show enterprise and mounted early pressure, the Reggae Girlz held their own defensively, as they ensured the opponent’s hunt for goals turned out fruitless at that point.

In fact, the Jamaicans were not without hope on the attacking front, and it was one of their occasional push forward that resulted in the opening goal.

Atlanta Primus’s initial effort from a distance was handled at the top of the arc by a defender and it was left for Spence to step up and convert a delightful free kick beating Kailen Sheridan diving full stretch to her right.

Canada launched a series of attacks in their probe for the equalizer and almost pulled level in the 35th, as a corner kick taken by Leon was headed on by Deneisha Blackwood. Fortunately for the Jamaican left-back, the crossbar was in the way.

The host again went close when Ashley Lawrence drove a stinging right-footer from a distance that Spencer tipped unto the crossbar and Primus, who dropped back to assist with defending, forced the ball out for a corner.

Leon served up a perfectly weighted delivery from the resulting corner and Lacasse rose above her markers to head home from close range to make it 1-1 heading into the break.

Though the Reggae Girlz were chasing the game, the manner in which they came out on the resumption said otherwise.

As such, their hopes of mounting a comeback were dented five minutes in, when Blackwood’s unforced error, allowed Lawrence to float a cross in for unmarked substitute Huitema to nod home.

Canada should have added another in the 62nd as another defensive error by captain Allyson Swaby, allowed another substitute, Christine Sinclair through on goal, but the legendary striker failed to add to her 190-goal tally, as her effort went straight at Spencer.

In the 72nd, Sinclair again found space in the 18-yard box for a right-footer that went just wide of the left upright.

The Girlz tried to play their game but were unable to cause any real problems in the attacking third. Instead, it was Canada, who asserted authority in the latter stages, and it took another big save from Spencer, who left her line well, to deny 19-year-old substitute Olivia Smith in time added.

It was another case of could have and should have for Lorne Donaldson and his senior Reggae Girlz as they were left ruing the substandard performance in a 0-2 defeat to Canada, a blow to their Olympic Games qualification hopes.

A positive start in which they kept Canada at bay gave the Reggae Girlz and the moderate spectator turnout at the National Stadium hope that they could have pulled off a big win.

But when it mattered most, they lacked accuracy in the final third, and that, coupled with amateurish defending at times, resulted in Nichelle Prince (18^th) and the menacing Adriana Leon (90+3), putting Canada in the driver’s seat to secure the coveted spot to next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

While the Bev Priestman-coached reigning Olympic champions will be confident heading into Tuesday's second leg, to be played before a sold-out crowd at BMO Field in Toronto, Donaldson and his team will have to pick up the pieces and get their offensive and defensive shape right in their bid to achieve an improbable win in hostile environment.

“Canada is a team that played like 100 games together. We are a team that is coming together, and we are still searching for some combinations that we think can work. Scoring goals is very difficult. I mean, we haven’t played anybody who is a slouch, so we have to get games that are winnable games for us that we can start building and building.

“But it doesn’t come easy when you play teams like Canada, France, and Brazil among others, but hopefully we can find a way to get through this situation and start scoring some more goals,” Donaldson said in his post-game press conference.

Reflecting on the performance, Donaldson pointed out that he had nothing to be satisfied with, especially in a loss where the team’s execution fell below expectations.

The Girlz throughout the contest, had some half chances fall to Cheyna Matthews, Jody Brown, Tiffany Cameron and Konya Plummer, in the latter stages. From a defensive perspective, the score could have been much wider in Canada’s favour had it not been for some excellent work from goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.

“We had a couple of chances, and we didn’t finish them. Canada got their chance, and they finished it. For the first 50 to 60 minutes they [Canadians] were better than us moving the ball around and they did some stuff that really caught us off guard tactically. We made the adjustments but chasing a one-goal lead a lot of time you then gave up another one and that’s what happened,” Donaldson reasoned.

“There’s not a lot of satisfaction when you lose games. We weren’t as good as we should be. Maybe for first 10 or 15 minutes we got two chances that we should have done something better with.

“Canada had one and they finished it and so right there it could have been a big difference. Chasing the game is very difficult at times when you play good teams. Canada are the defending champions and I think we had forgotten that," he added.

With the situation being as it is now, Donaldson like many Reggae Girlz supporters at home and abroad, hope it will serve as added motivation for the players. 

Being more committed and focused, the tactician believes will lead to lead to a better second-leg performance, especially as they now have a very specific aim which is to not just win but win by two or more clear goals, if they are to achieve another historic feat of being the first Caribbean team to qualify for women's football at the Olympic Games.

“I think everybody should be okay and ready to go because we have to now go to Canada and change our fortunes and make something happen differently,” Donaldson declared.

Should the Girlz fail to overturn the deficit, they will next be in action against Panama and Guatemala where victories would secure their berth in next year's Concacaf Women's Gold Cup.

Jamaica...0

Canada...2

Prince (18th), Leon (90+2)

Jamaica's senior Reggae Girlz dreams of an historic Olympic Games qualification is all but up in smoke, as they suffered a 0-2 defeat to Canada in their first-leg playoff encounter at the National Stadium on Friday. 

Goals from Nichelle Prince in the 18th and the menacing Adriana Leon in the 90+2 minutes was enough to lift the Bev Priestman-coached reigning Olympic champions to a crucial advantage heading into Tuesday's second leg which will be played before a sold-out crowd at BMO Field in Toronto.

For Lorne Donaldson and his Girlz it will be a case of pulling off the improbable win in a hostile environment, if they are to progress.

The Girlz started out fairly disciplined, as they were quick on the ball and did well to contain Canada in the early exchanges. 

In fact, the Girlz looked more threatening in opening play, but their first real chance in the final third came from Deneisha Blackwood’s teasing 10^th-minute free kick, which had to be mopped up by the Canadian defenders. 

Such was the Girlz discipline when they gradually gained the ascendancy that Canada was hardly allowed to play their usual fluent passing game to get into the final third.

Instead, they were on the back foot and almost found themselves a goal down in the 14th minute. This, as Jody Brown was sent on the break by Atlanta Primus, but the diminutive forward’s shot was charged down by a defender. 

All the Reggae Girlz hard work was undone in the 18th when poor positioning by Blackwood allowed Ashley Lawrence to slip further down the right channel and deliver a weighted cross, which was expertly headed in by Prince, giving Rebecca Spencer no chance at a save.

Still, the Girlz fought on and again went close in the 29^th courtesy of Brown, who orchestrated a tidy build up and picked out Cheyna Matthews on the left, but the run amounted to nothing.

Matthews again went on the break five minutes later, as she shook her defender and should have initially struck a left footer, but was hesitant in doing so. When she belatedly got a shot off her favoured right foot, her marker had already recovered and averted the danger.

Though the score remained unchanged at half-time, the Jamaicans seemingly failed to recover from the manner in which they ended the first half. A defensive lapse immediately on the resumption allowed Leon through on goal and it took a tidy save from Spencer to deny her.

Canada again went close from the resulting corner with Prince's effort from the top of the 18-yard box rattling the crossbar. 

By virtue of pushing a high line in their probe for the equalizer, the Girlz absorbed some amount of pressure from Canada's break, as Leon got by Konya Plummer a couple of times but found Spencer in her way.

The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper did her utmost best to keep the Girlz in the game as she was again called upon when Cloe Lacasse got away down the left channel in the 64th and struck a left-footed effort which Spencer had to parry at her near post.

The Girlz had their best chance of the second half a minute later when substitute Tiffany Cameron’s shot from a rebound went just over the crossbar, after Khadija “Bunny” Shaw's initial effort was thwarted by Vanessa Gilles. 

But just when the moderate turnout in the stadium may have harboured a glimmer of hope that the Girlz would pull one back, Leon broke their hearts with a cheeky finish at Spencer’s near post from a Julia Grosso cross to put Canada 2-0 up.

Despite being down, the Jamaicans continued the push to at least reduce the deficit, but when Plummer fired a tame left-footed effort straight at Canada’s goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, deep inside added time, it all but summed up their lukewarm evening.

Teams: Jamaica -Rebecca Spencer, Allyson Swaby, Konya Plummer, Tiernny Wiltshire, Deneisha Blackwood, Vyan Sampson, Drew Spence, Jody Brown (Solai Washington 55th), Atlanta Primus (Kayla McKenna 71st), Cheyna Matthews (Tiffany Cameron 55th), Khadija Shaw

Subs not used: Sydney Schneider, Liya Brooks, Sashana Campbell, Chantelle Swaby, Kameron Simmonds, Olufolasade Adamolekun, Trudi Carter, Shaneil Buckley, Paige Bailey-Gayle

Booked: None

Canada -Kailen Sheridan, Sydney Collins, Kadeisha Buchanan, Rebecca Quinn, Ashley Lawrence (Gabby Carle 82nd), Vanessa Gilles, Nichelle Prince (Jordyn Huitema 64th), Jessie Fleming (Julia Grosso 79th), Adriana Leon, Cloe Lacasse, Jade Rose (Shelina Zadorsky 79th)

Subs not used: Lysianne Proulx, Sabrina D'Angelo, Olivia Smith, Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Evelyne Viens, Christine Sinclair, Simi Awujo, Bianca St-Georges 

Booked: Gillies (54th), Grosso (90+5)

Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)

Assistant referees: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA); Felisha Mariscal (USA)

Fourth official: Natalie Simon (USA)

Match Commissary: Techell McLean (SKN)

In their past nine meetings with Canada, Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz have lost every match by a combined score of 60-1.

But Head coach Lorne Donaldson doesn’t need a statistics lesson to know that his ever-improving Reggae Girlz team faces a stern examination of their history-making credentials, as they seek to end a winless run against the formidable reigning Olympic champions in an important assignment.

Donaldson’s side ranked at 37th and the number 10-ranked Canadians lock horns in the first of their two-leg Olympic qualifying playoff at the National Stadium on Friday at 7:00pm Jamaica time, with both aiming to draw first blood and, by extension, put themselves in pole position to secure a berth to next year's Olympic Games in France.

The second leg is scheduled for September 26 at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto.

While acknowledging the daunting nature of their task against the three-time Olympic medallists, Donaldson is hoping the Reggae Girlz can turn in an efficient performance in their bid to defy the odds and their doubters on local soil.

“Canada is the Olympic champion, they have won a lot of stuff, we haven’t proven anything yet so they have a right to be favourite. So we have to be good, we have to play really well to beat the Olympic champions,” Donaldson told Sportsmax.tv.

“We’re ready for a tough battle and it will take its own course, I’m sure. it’s a pretty important game to both teams so we just want to come out and play hard…as hard as we can and see what we can get out of it. That’s our aim, to come out and play as hard and be very effective in what we are trying to do,” he added.

The Reggae Girlz, who are coming off a confident run at the Fifa Women’s World Cup, where they finished second in Group F, holding top 10-ranked teams France and Brazil to goalless stalemates, complemented by a 1-0 victory over Panama, before losing 0-1 to Colombia in the Round of 16.

It was the first time since 1938 that a Caribbean team –male or female –contested the knockout stages at the global showpiece and the Girlz have a chance to not only build on that momentum, but also become the first Caribbean team to qualify for women’s football at the Olympics.

This, as Canada in seven matches so far this year, have registered two wins, one draw and four losses, scoring just five goals, while conceding a whopping 12.

But, even with that in mind, Donaldson maintains that his team will have to be at their best to achieve the intended results.

“We had a journey of all sorts, including the World Cup and those highs and lows prepares us for games like this. So it’s a challenge that we’re looking forward to and we have to try and score goals, it is as simple as that.

“We have to minimize what we give up because it’s a two-leg fixture, so we have to get a result from this leg and then go from there. So yeah, we’re going to have to be in top form to get a result,” Donaldson reasoned.

Though he has 20 players from his World Cup squad, led by 2022 Concacaf Women's Player of the Year and a finalist for this year's Ballon d'Or, Khadija “Bunny” Shaw in camp, Donaldson pointed out the decision on a starting team remains up in the air, as a few players are nursing niggles.

However, he expressed pleasure with what was displayed during three full sessions, all focused on their tactical approach.

“The first session was lively; the second one was a bit sub-par, but the players regained some tempo for the last session because they know the objective and I am sure they are shooting for it.

“Everything has been focused on tactics and what we want to do, which is to go in and get a result. So, we are just taking it in stride honour anything we need to honour, and try to finish up on a good note,” the tactician said.

Meanwhile, Canada’s head coach Bev Priestman will have 19 of the 23 players, who were part of her World Cup roster, including captain Christine Sinclair and a trio of Chelsea players — workhorse midfielder Jessie Fleming and defenders Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence.

Notable absences from that group are now-retired veteran midfielder Sophie Schmidt, as well as fullback Allysha Chapman, who is out for personal reasons. Fullback Jayde Riviere and forward Deanne Rose were originally named to the roster but will miss the qualifiers due to injuries.

Still, Priestman said her team is ready and raring to go.

“We all are itching to get back on the pitch and we want nothing more than to start our journey to the Olympic Games through these playoffs,” Priestman noted.

“We know it will be a tough challenge in front of us and it won’t be easy, but we are ready to rise to that challenge, the group feels fresh and excited, and we’re ready to go,” she added.

As the calls for support for Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz continue to grow, noted sports consultant Carole Beckford, has added her voice to the effort and even went as far as to suggest ways in which seats can be filled for the upcoming local leg of the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying playoff against Canada.

Beckford, like Head coach Lorne Donaldson and Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President, Christopher Samuda, believes the Reggae Girlz are deserving of every bit of backing, and, as such, are urging Jamaicans to show out at the National Stadium on September 22.

This, as the second leg scheduled for September 26 at the close to 40,000-capacity BMO Field in Toronto, has already been sold out.

In fact, Beckford went further to recommend that schools such as Excelsior, Holy Childhood, Meadowbrook, Alpha, Holy Trinity, Camperdown and Dunoon, dismiss classes at 1:00 pm, to allow the girls time to get home and back to the game.

She said businesses that employ individuals with girls at those schools, could also release them early to possibly accompany their children and Corporate Offices with women as CEOs could buy tickets for their employees. 

Additionally, she suggested that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JFC) could make adjustments for vehicular movements until match time, to allow one-way traffic up from Arthur Wint Drive.

According to Beckford, the show of support would be somewhat of a celebration for the 37^th-ranked Reggae Girlz for their exploits at the Fifa Women’s World Cup where they held France and Brazil to goalless stalemates and secured their first ever World Cup win with a 1-0 scoreline over Panama.

In the process, they became the first Caribbean nation –male or female – to play in the knockouts of the World Cup, since Cuba’s feat in 1938.

“This match could be a homecoming for the ladies, who were in the final 16 at the recently concluded World Cup in Australia/New Zealand. The Girlz deserve our support, let us all wear Jamaican colours next Friday. We will be up against the Reds,” Beckford urged.

Should the Girlz secure a victory and a draw against Canada, it would see them being the first Caribbean nation to qualify for women's football at the Olympic Games. It would also secure the Jamaicans the second automatic spot for the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup, alongside United States.

The loser will drop into a women’s Gold Cup qualifying Group A, which includes Panama and Guatemala. They would play home and away games against these two teams starting October 25, with an away game in Panama.

Having had a successful run at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia, senior Reggae Girlz Head coach Lorne Donaldson says it comes as no surprise that a number of players recently landed contracts in top leagues, and hopes the experience gained so far will serve them well in their upcoming fixtures.

Donaldson, who maintained the majority of his World Cup squad for the two-leg Olympic Qualifying playoff fixtures against Canada on September 22 on home soil and September 26 in Toronto, pointed out that the aim is always to get players into contracts that not only benefit them, but also the women’s programme.

Subsequent to their history-making run to the Round of 16 at the global showpiece, standout defender Allyson Swaby, Trudi Carter, Tiernny Wiltshire, Konya Plummer and Deneisha Blackwood, all inked new deals.

Swaby, 26, signed with Italian club AC Milan until 2026, for what will be her second stint in the women’s Serie A, having previously represented AS Roma. Right-back Wiltshire signed with French Division one team Stade De Reims.

Carter, who also had a stint with AS Roma which was derailed by injury, joined Mexican club Atletico San Luis, while Blackwood and Plummer are also plying their trade in Mexico with Pumas Unam and Tigres Uanl, respectively.

“It’s a part of our objective to ensure that our players are playing in some of the best leagues around the world and it is important that the upcoming players see that Jamaicans can get contracts in top leagues, so we love to see that,” Donaldson told Sportsmax.tv.

“One of our main aims from we joined the programme is to get these Girlz in different parts of the world so they can make a living playing football and also help the programme and we have achieved that to an extent, so the coaching staff is very happy,” he added.

For the upcoming games, Donaldson have left out World Cup debutants Peyton McNamara and Kalyssa Van Zanten due to school obligations, while the experienced Havana Solaun is said to be unavailable.

As a result, Olufolasade Adamolekun, who has been in good knick in recent times and the versatile Sashana “Pete” Campbell, who was a World Cup alternate, comes in.

The 37^th-ranked Reggae Girlz, who held France and Brazil to goalless stalemates and secured their first ever World Cup win with a 1-0 scoreline over Panama became the first Caribbean nation –male or female – to play in the knockouts of the World Cup, since Cuba’s feat in 1938.

Now they are on the hunt to rewrite the history books, as a victory and a draw against Canada would see the Jamaicans being the first Caribbean nation to qualify for women's football at the Olympic Games. It would also secure them the second automatic spot for the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup, alongside United States.

The loser will drop into a women’s Gold Cup qualifying Group A, which includes Panama and Guatemala. They would play home and away games against these two teams starting October 25, with an away game in Panama.

“I’m sure the players are going to come in confident that they have a chance to get a result, so it is for us now to just come in and see what everybody looks like fitness wise and then we go from there. We expect the players to come in with some enthusiasm, it’s not the World Cup, so it’s a different approach to ensure we give it our best to get a result,” Donaldson shared.

“Once I get the best out of the Girlz then I would be happy and proud and if qualification comes with it then even better, but I am not too concerned about the historic aspect of it. We just want to keep moving forward towards building a strong and sustainable women’s football programme. It makes no sense we talk about history if the necessary support isn’t behind it,” the tactician noted.

That said, Donaldson expressed optimism that the Girlz will get a good turnout to start what should be two tough assignments against the reigning Olympic Champions who are out to prove a point after their early World Cup exit.

“They (Canada) are the defending champion so we expect them to be competitive as they will want to defend their crown. They didn’t perform so well at the World Cup, so this will be there shot at redemption, and they will have a point to prove. As you can see the game in Canada is already sold out, so everybody is behind them and they have a lot of support,” Donaldson assessed.

“People in Jamaica aren’t necessarily behind football, but they like to talk football. At the World Cup we got the support from the Australian crowd but in Jamaica you can’t even get a percentage of that.

“I’m sure the players are hopeful that the fans show up because when they get to Canada it’s going to be a full stadium of over 40,000, so hopefully we can get some people in the stands and get some support that the Girlz deserve,” he ended.

Donaldson and his team will assemble in Jamaica on September 19.

Tickets for all the games came be purchased at www.caribtix.com or www.jff.football.

Squad: Sydney Schneider, Rebecca Spencer, Liya Brooks, Allyson Swaby, Chantelle Swaby, Konya Plummer, Deneisha Blackwood, Tiernny Wiltshire, Tiffany Cameron, Vyan Sampson, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Solai Washington, Kameron Simmonds, Trudi Carter, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Cheyna Matthews, Olufolasade Adamolekun, Kayla McKenna, Sashana Campbell

While their recent rise in the Fifa Women's World rankings is all well and good, senior Reggae Girlz assistant coach Xavier Gilbert says the focus of the Lorne Donaldson-led staff is more on initiating the next phase of building the programme to not only ensure continued growth and development, but more importantly, success.

Gilbert, beamed about the fact that the Girlz showed mettle against two of the world's best teams –number-five ranked France and number nine-ranked Brazil –at the recently-concluded World Cup jointly hosted in Australia and New Zealand, and pointed to the significance of maintaining that historic momentum.

The now 37th-ranked Reggae Girlz, held France and Brazil to goalless stalemates and secured their first ever World Cup win with a 1-0 scoreline over Panama to progress from the group stage, before going down 0-1 to now 22nd-ranked Colombia in the Round of 16.

Merely making the Round of 16 was an overachievement by the Jamaicans, as they became the first Caribbean nation –male or female –to play in the knockout stages of the World Cup, since Cuba’s feat in 1938 and that Gilbert believes attributed to their six-place jump on the world table.

By virtue of that, the Girlz also moved to fourth in Concacaf behind United States, who are now ranked at number three in the world, Canada who slipped to 10th and Mexico, who slipped to 36th. The Jamaicans overtook Costa Rica, who slipped to 43rd.

"It is important that we move up the ladder because a rise or fall in the ranking shows that you're either doing something right or failing to get to a particular standard to meet certain objectives. So, it is really good for us and of course we are happy because this move, is a testament of the work we have done over the years, to not only get to this point where we improve our rankings, but more importantly, improve our general performance," Gilbert told SportsMax.tv.

"So, it is important that this momentum isn’t lost, as we have always alluded to, we still have areas that we can improve in and our recent achievement just goes to show that the more we are together and the more continuity we have, the better we can become. We just have to build, we can be better, and we can go higher but the only way to do that, is to build," he added.

Gilbert's sentiments were a slight jab in the direction of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), as he argued that they failed to capitalise on the Fifa match windows ahead of the World Cup, which would have aided in more sustained preparations that might have yielded more positive results.

"We didn't maximise on games in the other windows ahead of the World Cup and I think that would have helped us move a little further," the tactician said.

"I think once we occupy the Fifa windows we will see some more growth and, by extension movements up the ladder and, of course, we would possibly get a lot more invitations to play more friendly games against some top teams to further build our competitive edge," Gilbert reasoned.

"So, again, the move up the ranking is a step in the right direction, it also augurs well for the Caribbean where the standing of women’s football is concerned and I am hoping we can benefit from it by getting more games, as we have to ensure that we utilise each and every Fifa window to build going forward," he continued.

Another positive spinoff from their World Cup exploit is the fact that a number of players, to include, standout defender Allyson Swaby and Trudi Carter, recently landed contracts in two top leagues.

Swaby, 26, signed with Italian club AC Milan until 2026, for what will be her second stint in the women’s Serie A, having previously represented AS Roma. Carter, 28, who also had a stint with AS Roma which was derailed by injury, Mexican club Atletico San Luis.

“Obviously, that again is a good look, this is what we expect, and it is what we want. We want to have our players plying their trade in some of the top leagues around the world as it not only helps to improve their craft, but also the programme because they will bring that experience and knowledge into the national team which will assist in how we perform against certain opponents,” Gilbert shared.

For the next Fifa match window in September, the Girlz will have an important Olympic qualifying playoff assignment against reigning Olympic champions Canada, where they will hope to secure more positive results and, by extension, rewrite the history books.

Victories in the September 22 and 26 fixtures at the National Stadium and Toronto respectively, would see the Jamaicans being the first Caribbean nation to qualify for women's football at the Olympic Games. It would also secure them the second automatic spot for the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup, alongside United States.

Though cautiously optimistic about the outcome, Gilbert knows it will by no means be easy, especially with the Canadians wanting to make amends for their failed World Cup campaign. 

"Our performance at the World Cup was a testament in itself of the growth and hard work that has been done by our staff and players, but we remain grounded and so we are well aware of that challenge and know what is ahead," he noted.

Still, if the World Cup has proven anything, it's that the gap between the proverbial big wigs and perceived smaller nations, are rapidly closing.

"We certainly respect what they bring to the table, but we expect a lot of ourselves, and we are optimistic in terms of our ability and what we can do with the right level of preparation. I think with the caliber of players we have and the depth we have, we can prove tougher and more competitive than in the past and hopefully we can get favourable results," Gilbert ended.