THE Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), while recognising that it is not enough, said it spent over $30 million last year on its women’s programme under trying financial circumstances.

General Secretary Horace Reid said with all that it was able to do to give the programme a lift, continued efforts are underway to do more as the JFF is committed to growing all aspects of the national football infrastructure.

“The JFF invested over $30 million last year alone on women’s football… we staged a successful FIFA Women’s COM-UNITY seminar and accepted hosting obligations for the CFU Under-17 Finals last November when no other country accepted to host,” said Reid, responding to the successful efforts of the Under-17 and Under-20 women’s teams that qualified for the CONCACAF finals of their respective age groups.

“We are the only Caribbean country that has unified for both the CONCACAF and CFU Finals this year,” the veteran administrator explained.

Contrary to popular belief, Reid noted that no effort is being spared in locating more corporate support for the women’s game on all levels, but conceded that it’s not an easy sell as businesses tend to gravitate more quickly to the marquis Reggae Boyz brand.

In addition, he noted that the Federation is continuously seeking to upgrade not only the women’s plank, but the overall programme even in the face of financial hardships.

“We are in continued dialogue with FIFA regarding other initiatives for women’s football to be rolled out this year, which includes grassroots development programmes,” Reid said.

But the technical co-ordinator of women’s football on the island and head coach for the existing teams, Vin Blaine, said women’s football will always be treated as the Cinderella aspect of the national football product as it is not seen as being “very important”.

“The Girlz programme is always under pressure as some people don’t see it as important… as a coach I see it as being very important. Sadly, we are operating on a top-down basis, which means we have to do well first to get corporate support,” he said in the Dominican Republic recently where the Under-20 Reggae Girlz advanced to the CONCACAF play-offs as the best runner-up team from across two zones in the Caribbean finals.

Blaine is aware that JFF is low on money, but urged that ways must be found to keep pumping oxygen into women’s football less it will die a slow and painful death.

“We know that the Federation is short on funds, so we have always been calling out to corporate Jamaica to try to help the Girlz to perform,” he said.

“It’s easy to say cut the women’s programme as it’s the easiest way to go and that’s a ‘defeatist’ attitude. We definitely need to put some emphasis on the women’s programme,” Blaine added.

In part of a cost-cutting exercise in 2010, the JFF suspended the senior Girlz programme, and instead shifted emphasis and focus on the youth programmes as part of what was conveyed then as a development thrust.

While Jamaica is regarded as the top playing Caribbean nation of the women’s game today, Blaine warns that if the country does not implement sustainable development initiatives, it could lose its status to other countries that have concentrated considerable resources on their programmes.

“It’s important for us to recognise that everybody in the region is paying attention to their women’s programme right now… it’s not by chance that you have a Puerto Rico for example getting by a Trinidad 1-0 and Jamaica losing 0-1 to Haiti.

“In the Dom Rep a lot of importance and emphasis is being placed on the women’s programme, so they are improving, if we want to stay ahead of the Caribbean, we have to start putting more money into the women’s programme, from the private sector and people who are interested in the women’s game,” said Blaine, who carries the flame of women’s football burning in his heart having coached at various levels over the years.

So confident in the ability and potential of the Girlz that Blaine believes that Jamaica could be on the periphery of a historic World Cup qualification, having come close on a couple of occasions at CONCACAF Finals.

“I believe whole-heartedly that if we place emphasis on it we will make a World Cup, but it can’t just happen overnight, it can’t just happen by having talent alone, you must have a sustainable programme that exposes the Girlz to proper games,” he said.

“Our Girlz average 15 games per year and that is way below the necessary level for them to really improve and hone their game… we can’t play 15 games here in Jamaica and expect to go up against USA, Mexico, Canada and even Costa Rica, who have been doing very well recently… we must improve our worth as far as games are concerned if we are to make a serious challenge,” Blaine concluded.