APPROXIMATELY 500 schoolgirl footballers and their coaches from 19 high schools across the island, who compete in the ISSA Schools Girls Football Competition, attended the Reggae Girlz vs Chile match last Sunday at the Montego Bay Sports Complex courtesy of WATA, sponsors of the Reggae Girlz, to their first Fifa Women’s World Cup.

The schoolgirl footballers were treated to a ‘WATA Girlz Football Showcase’ which featured a nutrition talk by Kamila McDonald, who stressed the importance of hydration to good performance as well as a winning attitude; and an interactive session with a Reggae Girl, Chinyelu Asher, who spoke about the need to stay focused in order to achieve success.

The Reggae Girlz Head Coach Hue Menzies also spoke to the large group of school footballers. He commended them for their interest in the sport and praised the launch of the grassroots football programme for girls in the west.

The schoolgirl footballers got the opportunity to view and take pictures with the Women’s World Cup Trophy that had its first stop in Jamaica as a result of the Reggae Girlz qualifying for the Fifa Women’s World Cup for the first time.

Western Jamaica, which is well known for its love of football, was well represented at the match by serveral western-based schools. They included Anchovy High, Green Pond High, Montego Bay High, Mount Alvernia High, St James High, Frome Technical, Roger Clarke High and Newell High.

There were three schools from the other end of the island including Wolmer’s Girls’, Merl Grove and Meadowbrook High, while the other schools came from other parts of the island including Manchester, St Ann, St Mary and St Catherine.

In terms of zones, the footballers represented seven of the eight zones in the ISSA competition, with the exception of the schools in Zone E covering the parish of Clarendon.

According to Wisynco’s Senior Marketing and Public Relations Manager Tamara Ward, “the assistance to the schools to attend the Reggae Girlz vs Chile match was an expression of our commitment to support the Reggae Girlz and empower young girls through sports and especially football. The feedback that we have received from the schools that attended the match has been very encouraging and we look forward to even better football at the high school level going forward”.

WATA is the hydration sponsor of the JFF’s senior men, women and grassroots programme. This sponsorship has been ongoing for over 15 years. During that time the company has been a major sponsor of multiple Fifa World Cup campaigns for the Reggae Boyz and now the Reggae Girlz as they prepare to compete in the Fifa World Cup for the first time.