Speid: We won’t stop momentum

June 16, 2021
Speid
Speid

Jamaica Football Federation's technical committee chairman Rudolph Speid says they do not intend to squander the momentum gained from the senior women's national team's return to competitive play and more matches are being sought for the team ahead of the November World Cup qualifiers.

After 14 months without any training camps or games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reggae Girlz made their return in the recent two-game international series in Houston, Texas, against African champions Nigeria and World champions the United States. While registering an impressive 1-0 over the Africans last Thursday, the tour ended with a 4-0 defeat by the United States with three of the goals coming in the first 22 minutes.

Available windows

Speid said that he is pleased with not only being able to get the Girlz back playing but their overall performance over the two games given the long layoff. He says that they will look to give head coach Hubert Busby Jr more opportunities in the available windows to give him as many games and camps as possible before the November qualifiers.

"We going to be trying our best. Sometimes things don't work out but we are going to give him the best possible chance to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers." Speid told STAR Sports.

The win over Nigeria is their first over an African nation in the programme's history.

The two matches kick-started their preparations for the 2023 World Cup qualifying campaign, which will see four teams represent the region in the tournament to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The increased places are a result of the expanded tournament format which now features 32 teams.

According to the current schedule, there are two available windows in September and October before the November qualifiers. Busby said that there are plans down the road to evaluate new talent to expand his options, plans which the technical team fully supports.

"We are working on it to see if we can execute it and see if we can improve the team as much as possible. We are always looking for talent. It wouldn't surprise me if the coach calls up a couple more players to strengthen the team," Speid said.

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