JAMAICA’S senior Reggae Girlz head coach Merron Gordon is upbeat about the team’s capacity to continue improving ahead of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in the United States from October 15 to 26.

The squad gathered for their pretournament camp in Orlando, Florida, late on Sunday and held their first training stint the following morning.

The Jamaica coach was in a buoyant mood and described Monday’s session as “very good”.

But he conceded there may be challenges getting high-quality practice games while in the US.

“We’ll be trying to get some games, but it is hard to get them because it’s in the middle of the college season and the club season has finished in the US. Still, we are trying to get some games, perhaps against academies.

“I’m optimistic because we have a full staff at our disposal so that we can fine-tune for the tournament. The [Jamaica Football] Federation has given us their blessing so hopefully everything will be fine,” Gordon told the Jamaica Observer.

Jamaica, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) runners-up, have been placed in Group B of the CONCACAF tournament alongside Mexico, Costa Rica and Martinique.

They open their account versus Martinique at the Sporting Park in Kansas on October 16. They then jet off to meet Costa Rica at the Toyota Park in Illinois on October 18. The Jamaicans complete their preliminary-round games against Mexico at the RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington, DC on October 21.

Group A comprises CFU champions Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, Guatemala and global powerhouses, the US.

A glaring anomaly for the Reggae Girlz is that they have not been able to play a single friendly international match, despite having had local and overseas-based camps ahead of the Caribbean Cup qualifiers in June and the CFU tournament in August.

Gordon explained that arranging friendly games has proven to be a difficult task but he insisted that the show must go on.

“The Federation is doing their best in trying to secure an international match, but it is not easy. With or without that game, we have to stay focused and work as hard as we can in achieving our goals,” he said.

The top three teams at the Championship will automatically qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. The fourthplaced team will enter a play-off against a South American country.

Canada will not compete at the CONCACAF phase, because as hosts, they receive a bye to the World Cup.

No Jamaican female team has ever qualified for the global showpiece.

Before June this year, the senior women’s team had not been in competitive action dating back to 2008. The dormant spell was attributed to lack of funding.

Now, the senior women’s programme is being propelled largely through the fund-raising industry of Cedella Marley, daughter of late music legend Bob Marley.

Jamaica squad — Nicole McClure, Olivia Reid, Shaquille Laing, Omolyn Davis, Shakira Duncan, Alexa Allen, Venicia Reid, Keneisha Reid, Yolanda Hamilton, Mitsy Facey, Christina Murray, Konya Plummer, Monique Pryce, Sherona Forrester, Jodi-Ann McGregor, Sonaska Young, Nicole Campbell-Green, Donna-Kay Henry, Jorja Hughes, Shaneka Gordon, Sashana Campbell, Alicia Wilson, Lauren Silver, Rasha Roberts.