(WSVN) - Jamaica’s soccer team made a stop in South Florida before heading to France to compete in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The team, the first Caribbean nation to play in the world’s biggest tournament, has the tiny island of Jamaica feeling irie.
“Having all the support we are getting now, I think the girl them down in Jamaica look up to us and realize there is good things that can come out of playing soccer,” a player said.
Comprised of women born and raised on the island, “The Reggae Girls” also have young ladies of Jamaican heritage, such as South Florida’s own Lauren Silver and Marlo Sweatman.
Both have said they are beyond proud to represent the black, green and gold.
“It means everything to wear the crest over my chest every game to support my mom’s country,” Silver said.
“To represent Jamaica with the team that I get to play along with is just an honor,” goalkeeper Nicole McClure added.
With the World Cup group that features three of the top 10 teams on the planet, “The Reggae Girls” have no worry in mind.
“We’re coming in as the underdogs, but we have more heart than anyone else out there, and we’re ready to kick butt,” Silver said.
It was clear that none of the players lacked confidence and motivation ahead of the big tournament.
“Our motto is out of many people, we’re just emulating that fact that race and creed — none of that really matters on the football field,” a player expressed. “We’re representing Jamaica whether we were born there or not.”
“Of course we are going there to win,” another player said. “For sure, we are gonna go win. We are going to Europe to show even though we are from a small island, but we deserve to be here just like everybody else. We are good at it. We are just gonna go do our thing and show the world we can do it.”
Jamaica has its stereotypes where people will easily recognize a Jamaican by the way they carry themselves but most noticeable: the way Jamaicans talk.
“Anytime a Jamaican is around they take over. That’s just the way things is,” head coach Hue Menzies said. “I mean from when I grew up, when we talk, people think we are fighting against each other, but we are just reasoning.”
“We colors — them bright, you have to see we dance, and you have to see we move, and you have to hear we talk and stuff like that,” one of the players added. “That’s why the whole world love us. From you say Jamaica, them say Usain Bolt, them say Bob Marley, them saying dancing and all of that. That’s just us.”
Bob Marley’s daughter, Cedella, resurrected women’s soccer in Jamaica.
If the team can overcome the odds, there will be lots of happy fans celebrating back home and in South Florida.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.