Reggae Girlz await fate in Concacaf qualifying draw
Jamaica’s pathway to the 2023 Women’s World Cup will be more defined when the Concacaf Women’s Championship qualifying draw takes place tomorrow at 2 p.m. (Jamaica time).
The Reggae Girlz will be among 30 teams hoping to secure a spot in next year’s Concacaf Women’s Championship tournament which will serve as the qualifier for both the World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics. The United States and Canada have already booked their spots in the final round and will await the six group winners from the first round of matches.
Former national senior women’s assistant coach Charles Edwards says that no matter where the Reggae Girlz are placed, they have the quality to get through to the final round as long as their preparation has been up to a certain standard.
‘WE WILL DO WELL’
“I think once we are ready we will do well. What serves well for us is that we were able to play a (couple) of games in June and it was a younger squad. Now adding the older players to it and once we get into some camps that should argue extremely well for us,” Edwards told STAR Sports.
Jamaica Reggae Girlz are aiming to make a quick return to the World Cup after their historic 2019 campaign with the added incentive of making the next Olympics. Concacaf announced yesterday a change to the framework of the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Championship which sees the winner of the tournament gain automatic qualification to Paris 2024. The runners-up and thirdplace winners will face each other in a playoff in 2023 to determine the final spot from the region.
Edwards said that the team would naturally want to avoid a rough path to the final round, and the Girlz have to be prepared to navigate any obstacle that is thrown at them.
“Regardless of which zone (we are in) or who we draw, we just have to get out there and do what we have to do. The last World Cup qualifying cycle people were very sceptical about us qualifying and we did it,” Edwards said. “So here we go again another situation where whatever comes our way (we have to press on).”
The qualifiers start in November.
“Regardless of which zone (we are in) or who we draw, we just have to get out there and do what we have to do.”