Chaos behind the scenes for Jamaica Women: 'It takes part of the excitement away' (edited with excerpts from the article)

On June 15, a month before the tournament started, the Jamaica squad released a statement that highlighted issues around “transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition and accessibility to proper resources”.

The JFF replied saying, “We acknowledge that things have not been done perfectly, and we are working assiduously to resolve them.”

That performance against France is a sign the team have made progress since the previous World Cup, yet the fear is they are being held back from reaching their full potential.

The Athletic can reveal the full extent of the issues the JWNT (Jamaica Women’s National Team) claim they have faced over the past few years, including:

• Two separate fundraising campaigns set up to help cover costs at this World Cup

• Players and coaches paying to get their own luggage on flights

• Players and staff not being reimbursed for expenses

• Adidas and Bob Marley’s family covered costs of a pre-World Cup camp, not the JFF

• The JFF being accused of “lacking professionalism”

[...]

A player who has represented Jamaica in recent years who has requested to stay anonymous says it has “been a battle since the beginning of time” over unfulfilled promises.

“The leaders of the federation have been in those seats of power (for a long time), so it’s no surprise that we are cycling through the same issues,” the player says. “We haven’t been getting money for things that we agreed with our federation in our contracts. Money hasn’t been paid on time and people have outstanding balances.

“When you’re a product of this environment and culture that lacks a lot of professionalism, you are desensitised to what you deserve. This is the treatment we have been used to.”

[...]

The contributions from the two fundraising campaigns and Marley, along with support from Adidas and the Jamaican government, raise questions and concerns about the extent of the JFF’s backing of the team this summer.

“It’s the experience of a lifetime,” says Sweatman, who played in two of those games at France 2019. “You want to enjoy it, put in the hard work and feel the reward come back. When you have this in the back of your head it adds a lot of pressure and stress that shouldn’t be put on players.

“One of our team-mates set up a system where we could make T-shirts and sell them to our families to fundraise — you shouldn’t have to do that. You’re playing the top countries in the world. You look at other teams and say, ‘Wow, they have had camps every single month’. We step onto the field with a lack of preparation and that hits your confidence.

“(For the current squad) it takes part of the excitement away, because they’re expecting there will be roadblocks when they go into camp.”