World Cup made me chose France ­- Shaw

National striker Khadija Shaw says that her decision to begin her professional career in France was heavily influenced by her experience at the 2019 Women's World Cup hosted by the same country.

Shaw was speaking on BBC's The Players podcast where, along with Reggae Girl ambassador Cedella Marley, she spoke about the return of the senior women's programme, their historic qualification to the World Cup as well as her role in the 2019 pay dispute between the team and the Jamaica Football Federation(JFF).

The 24-year-old Shaw decided against entering the National Women's Soccer League draft in the United States after her collegiate career with the University of Tennessee to explore playing opportunities elsewhere. An integral part of the Reggae Girlz World Cup qualification, Shaw said the World Cup experience led her to eventually signing for French Cup Bordeaux in 2019 because of the football culture.

"For me it's all about the culture and that's one of the main reasons why I chose France to play because of the experience I had at the World Cup. I wanted more. It was how supportive and how the fans [were]," Shaw said. "I thought Jamaicans love football but when I got here, it was different. I have teammates that guys tattoo their names on their skins. So, like it's a crazy experience."

While she went into her first season in the French division one without any expectations, she managed to score 10 goals before the campaign ended abruptly because of the coronavirus. She has surpassed her debut season total heading into the home stretch of this year's campaign, leading the Golden Boot race with 19 goals and also registering seven assists.

Shaw played in all three World Cup games for the Reggae Girlz and has credited the experience for charting her current path up the professional ranks.

"Coming to France was big. I didn't really know what to expect because of the language, the culture and stuff like that. But the World Cup was an experience for me and it is something that I will never forget," Shaw said.

Despite Shaw not being in the team for their latest fixture because of injury, Bordeaux still managed to defeat Fleury 91 2-1 in their game last Saturday to maintain hold of third place in the standings and the final Women's Champions League spot.