Marlo Sweatman personifies, perhaps more than any other player, what’s good about Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz.

Though she may not wear the captain’s armband, her great personality, humble disposition, professional attitude and a recognised unifying force off the field make her an inspirational and foundational figure in the team.

Added to that, Sweatman is a team veteran, an elder stateswoman of the senior Reggae Girlz group, if you like.

So when she speaks about her history-making team, hers is accepted to be a voice of reason and sound judgement.

With a just about a month to the kick off of the Fifa Women’s World Cup in France, Sweatman was on target when she argued that the upcoming camp and friendly international against Panama in Jamaica and all consequent such exercises are crucial in the final preparation phase.

“I am very excited to get into camp next week and start the real process. It’s very critical to use these camps toward the end product, which is the World Cup… they are not only good for on-the-field fine tuning, but to really build chemistry with players off the field. So much of the game is won by will and passion, but to build chemistry off the field makes it much easier to fight for the player next to you on the field.

“I think we are fortunate to have a really close-knit group, so it can only benefit us to be together for such an amount of time before competition,” Sweatman told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

The Panama match on Sunday, May 19, inside the National Stadium in Kingston, will not only cap a one-week camp, but importantly will be an official send-off as the team heads off to the June 7-July 7, tournament in scenic France.

In Sweatman’s view, nothing but a polished and professional delivery against Panama will be enough to repay the Jamaican people, who have backed the Girlz’ campaign so far.

“It’s very important that our performance has to be top-class to show the Jamaican fans how ready we are… we want to give them a good showing to have them behind us 100 per cent as we head to France,” said the Virginia native.

Interestingly, it was Panama who Jamaica defeated in the third-place play-off match of the Concacaf Women’s Championship to become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

Following the local camp, the Girlz will stage another in South Florida, before heading to the UK where they will set up a one-week operation, that will end with a warm-up game against World Cup-bound Scotland in Edinburgh.

The Jamaicans will then make the short hop to their training base in France to home in preparation for their opening game of the World Cup against Brazil in Grenoble on June 9.

Sweatman, 24, said with the global showpiece just around the proverbial corner, her sense of anticipation, and that of her teammates, has reached fever pitch.

“With one month to go, I’m feeling a lot of emotions, but all positive. I would say I am excited, and ready to go. It’s going to be the biggest stage to play on so I’m just very excited to get going.

“The vibe is great and I feel like everyone is really in positive spirits and really excited to get the ball rolling… this is a big moment for every player who will make up that 23-woman squad, each wanting to make a name for herself and for the country and we all understand that and are ready to grab this opportunity,” Sweatman noted.

The central midfielder, who currently plies her trade professionally with Hungarian premiership outfit Szent Mihaly, says each day her personal mission is to improve her play.

“For me it is constant process of improvement… I’m never satisfied unless everything is perfect, so I’d like to say I’m constantly trying to improve my game. Over the past few months I’ve also been focusing on fitness and nutrition to give me that extra in competition,” said the former PEC Zwolle player of the Dutch women’s league.

Sweatman, who also represented Jamaica at the Under-20 level, has linked her growth on the international scene to her professional career.

“I have adjusted (at Szent Mihaly) and I feel it has really helped me… I have been training everyday with the team, and getting 90 minutes each weekend and that is exactly what I was hoping for and it has been helping me continue to grow on the pitch on a whole,” she reasoned.