THE national female programme has always been the Cinderella of Jamaica’s football — and perhaps always will be.

Let’s face it. Women’s football will always play second fiddle to the marquis Reggae Boyz, and will never benefit from the careful and painstaking machination that goes into nurturing the men’s programme.

For women’s football is really seen as garnish on a programme that is deep-rooted in the traditional men’s side of things. It has never truly received the respect that many on the outside felt it deserved and thus has been the victim of measured neglect by successive JFF administrations over the years.

Additionally, there are primitive thinkers who espouse the belief that football or soccer is a man’s domain, and women have no business in this arena.

And the danger of this is that those who think it are sometimes the ones well positioned to offer meaningful help in developing this aspect of the game with their mountains of cash.

There are those in corporate Jamaica who have looked away with one side of the face from rallying behind the national women’s programme because of its “below-par market appeal”, but have been known to trumpet the ideals that advocate love and respect for women in general with the other side.

Already, the private sector’s reluctance to offer more purposeful and sustainable assistance for women’s football has claimed its first victim.

The Senior Reggae Girlz, who were due to begin their quest for the FIFA World Cup this year, were dealt a cruel blow when they were informed by the JFF that the plug had been pulled.

It couldn’t have been an easy decision by the cash-strapped Federation to withdraw the Girlz from competition, but one that was clearly made due to a lack of funding, and also as part of the rationalisation of the technical programme.

I would hate to think that this agenda was chopped merely at someone’s whim, for there is no doubt that many young women’s hearts, and even dreams, were shattered by the decision.

I would like to lift my hat to Sherwin Williams, the paint manufacturer, for their many years of support to women’s football. Perhaps without their sponsorship, there would be no women’s programme.

But while I resent the business sector’s general lack of zeal and consequently, the JFF’s forced decision to suspend the Senior Women’s programme, there are fundamental and critical issues that are relevant to the current state and the road ahead for women’s football that cannot be ignored.

For success to be achieved, there ought to be improvement in the competence and functionality of the programme; upgrade in technical and tactical areas; greater emphasis on nutrition and a more aggressive grassroots development plan.

These weaknesses in the structure are so deep-seated that they are mirrored in how the various teams have performed at the CONCACAF level over the years.

In the same breath, we should also take into account that women’s football on the island is juvenile compared to the decades-old history of our CONCACAF counterparts.

And it is for that reason in part that countries like the USA, Canada and Mexico have led the way in the Confederation and continue to bull-whip us in competition, even as we dazzle with our exquisite ball skills. Unfortunately, ball trickery alone won’t get us into the World Cup Finals.

But we would like to recognise the hard work of Women’s Committee chairperson Elaine Walker-Brown and head coach Vin Blaine for their contribution to the women’s game, and it’s they, more than anyone else, who should be famished for success.

With their best efforts, though, our women footballers continue to lag behind at the CONCACAF level and hence, have failed at the final hurdle of competition time and again.

Just last month, the Under-20 Girlz were disappointing in the CONCACAF Qualifiers in Guatemala, losing all three games. And this end result has pretty much become par for the course for all age groups of our women’s teams.

But a welcome fillip for women’s football could come in the shape of the Under-17 Girlz qualifying for the World Cup in their CONCACAF play-offs due next month in Costa Rica.

Mind you, the odds have not changed much as they have strong Canada, Mexico, and to a lesser extent, Panama, in their group.

Just imagine how people’s views and attitudes would change and what a boost it would be for women’s football on the whole if these Girlz could qualify for Trinidad and Tobago in September later this year — the place and time for the next FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup.

My prayers are with them.