Jamaica: The Off-Pitch Story
Solai Washington and her teammates celebrate advancing to the Round of 16. Image: Will Murray / Getty Images
MELBOURNE, Australia - When Jamaica made it to their second Women’s World Cup, few outside the team knew the struggles they faced to make it to the tournament. From struggling to get funding to not getting paid for their participation in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Jamaica had to overcome numerous obstacles to get to the Women’s World Cup this summer.
To get the full story, ESPN’s article “Jamaica's struggle for equality and respect at World Cup” is a great read. To summarize, the Jamaican Women’s soccer team was disbanded in 2008 due to a lack of funds. Cedella Marley, the daughter of Jamaican singer Bob Marley, along with other generous philanthropists, donated money for the Jamaican women’s soccer team to exist. The team was soon back on the pitch before being disbanded again in 2016. Then, about seven years later, the team needed crowdfunding to be able to go to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with almost $100,000 being raised.
So far in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Jamaica has played like they deserve to be in a Women’s World Cup. Their defense has been impenetrable, conceding zero goals throughout the entire group stage. While their attack did not score a lot of goals, they got the job done.
One could see what it meant to the players after the final whistle. Players were dancing, hugging and spending time with family and their loyal fans.
In a touching moment after the match, Jamaican striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw and Brazilian legend Marta were seen talking and hugging. In her post-match interview, “Bunny” Shaw revealed that Marta would be “supporting them now moving forward.” In some ways, perhaps it’s fitting that it was Jamaica that knocked Brazil out. Brazil’s star, Marta has been a long-standing advocate for women’s soccer. Marta would surely be proud of what Jamaica has accomplished despite all the adversities they faced. Jamaica hopes to continue to write their heroic story in their Round of 16 game against Colombia.
