Photo:Scott Gardiner/Getty; Shaun Botterill/Getty
Scott Gardiner/Getty; Shaun Botterill/Getty
Usain Boltis sending love to the Reggae Girlz!
“You made us all proud#ReggaeGirlz,” the retired Jamaican sprinterwrote on X(formerly Twitter).
The Jamaican women’s soccer team, who lost to Colombia 0-1 in the quarterfinals, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2023 Women’s World Cup last week, drawing a 0-0 tie with Brazil, the No. 8 ranked team in the world.
The result sent the No. 43-ranked teamto the knockout roundwhile the Brazilian women’s team went home.
Several members of the Jamaican team were crying and hugging each other afterwards — which was dubbed “an achievement beyond belief,“according toFox Sports announcer Jacqui Oatley.
But the Jamaican team almost didn’t get their caps due to financial difficulties.
Andrew Wiseman/DeFodi Images via Getty
“If I can somehow make this journey smoother for them — and let them focus on what they’d love to do is play soccer — they shouldn’t be worried about the politics or getting a flight or getting accommodation,” Solaun’s mom, Sandra Phillips-Brower, told theAssociated Presslast month. “They should be able to go there and do what they qualified to do, just play soccer.”
Another more consistent source of support has been from Cedella Marley — the late Bob Marley’s 55-year-old daughter.
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Cedella has been helping fund the women’s soccer team since 2014 — and is even responsible for resuscitating it — after Jamaica had shut down the squad in 2008, according to a new report from theAssociated Press.
“Her support has been really important to us and she’s just the heart of this team,” Jamaica midfielder Deneisha Blackwood told the AP. “She’s just like our fairy godmother. We just appreciate her for everything she has done so far.”
source: people.com
