• Solaun is part of a diverse Reggae Girlz team

• Reflects on history-making first goal for her nation

• Warns of the threat posed by forward Khadija Shaw

Barely a decade ago, women’s football in Jamaica was on its knees.

Disappointing results and funding issues saw the program shuttered in 2010 and 12 months later, after three years of inactivity, the national team was unranked by FIFA.

Then came a series of events, sparked by none other than the daughter of reggae star Bob Marley, that set the team on a path that sees them heading next week into a second successive FIFA Women’s World Cup™.

In early 2014, Cedella Marley, the oldest daughter of the global music icon, agreed to become an ambassador for the team now known as the Reggae Girlz and quickly helped secure funding and attention for the programme.

A concerted effort was also made to cast the net as wide as possible in securing players eligible to represent Jamaica and that sees the nation head to Australia & New Zealand 2023 as one of the more diverse teams, with only five of the 23-woman squad born in the Caribbean nation.

Perhaps nobody embodies that rich cultural diversity more than the woman whose name will forever be etched in Jamaican football folklore, Havana Solaun.

Born in Hong Kong to a Cuban father and a Jamaican mother before moving to the United States as a toddler, Solaun was eligible for no fewer than four nations but, having represented USA at youth level, she made the decision to declare for the Reggae Girlz in 2019.

Three months after her debut she found herself in France as part of the Women’s World Cup squad and to this day she remains the only woman to have scored for the team on the global stage, having struck three minutes after her arrival as a half-time substitute against Australia in Grenoble.

Looking back on that historic moment, the 30-year-old told FIFA of her pride in becoming her nation’s first goalscorer but also the determination that Jamaica must continue to progress.

“Reflecting on it, it’s still hard to put into words. It was the final group match after a long campaign and we were all so tired but I just decided to free myself of expectations knowing I only had 45 minutes left to represent Jamaica at the World Cup.

“I’ve seen the video of the goal and everyone was like, ‘oh the crowd went wild,’ but I didn’t hear anything, it was almost like being underwater where you can hear people talking but your thoughts aren’t flowing.

“In 2019 our achievement was just in qualifying but this time things are different and I hope that goal helped to put Jamaica on the map.”

For Solaun it’s now an issue of making sure that Jamaica stay on that map as they head Down Under in a group that contains France, Panama and Brazil.

Having impressed in qualifying automatically for the Women’s World Cup the team’s final preparations have been mixed, having not won a competitive match since last July. Solaun, though, explains that the squad remains confident and is clear about what success will look like at Australia & New Zealand 2023.

“Success will be getting out of the group stage. This is now our second World Cup and we have to be brave, block out all the craziness of the World Cup and just play.

“The team is still young and we haven’t fully had the time to really put our DNA on what Jamaican soccer looks like but we have time to do that and once it all comes together it will be fun.”

The one thing that the Reggae Girlz do have is some genuine star power with Tottenham’s Drew Spence and veteran goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer, as well as on-loan PSG defender Allyson Swaby all key players.

Electric winger Jody Brown could be a real wildcard as well but it’s forward Khadija Shaw, known as ‘Bunny,’ that will be the undoubted centre of attention.

An electric campaign with Manchester City in the WSL saw the 26-year-old named as the club’s Player of the Season having scored a remarkable 20 goals (along with seven assists) in 22 matches and Solaun knows just how dangerous a threat the national hero can be.

“Bunny lives to win and her passion is contagious and as a midfielder it’s always nice to have a forward who knows what she wants, she’s like ‘put the ball in and around the box and I’m going to score a goal,’ that kind of thing just breeds energy and determination.

“It’s great to have a solid defence and attack but at the end of the day you have to score goals and it’s been such an honour to play with Bunny.”

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