While Marlo Sweatman’s football career has been bearing fruit by her estimation, she still yearns for that bountiful harvest in due season.

The Reggae Girlz midfielder’s one-year stint with Hungarian topflight Szent Mihaly is about to come to a close in June and she is looking to greener pastures in the European game.

Though she does not know where her next stop will be, the Virginia native is hopeful that her agents will work a deal that will keep her football journey fluid and productive.

“I’m currently finishing my contract in Hungary, and from there I am hoping to take a few steps into a higher level,” she told the Jamaica Observer recently.

“At the moment, a few things [possible deals] are brewing, but it is still too early for anything final,” Sweatman added.

The 25-year-old, who was instrumental in Jamaica’s historic qualification to the Fifa Women’s World Cup in France last year, said her stint in Hungary allowed her to expand her game.

“My experience [in Hungary] has been great as I have felt welcomed from the moment I arrived here. I’ve learned a lot on and off the field and have proven myself a leader on the team.

“I would say that it was also fruitful in off the field areas as far as the mental part of my game is concerned,” noted Sweatman.

The University of Oregon graduate believes her playing style suited the requirements of Hungary’s football.

Sweatman, who can be deployed in defensive and attacking midfield roles, is a player who mirrors the quality of a thinker with her keen tactical awareness, smooth passing and her deceptive, lumbering gait that disguises her agility and athleticism.

“I do agree that Hungary suits my playing style as they try to do their best to play through the midfield and really play possession football.

“I would recommend women from Jamaica starting their professional careers to give Hungary a try,” she said.

Sweatman, the former PEC Zwolle of the Dutch women’s league, says she hopes to see more Jamaican female players getting the opportunity to display their craft on the European club scene.

“I believe Jamaican women footballers are already making an impact in European football leagues and I hope to see more of an impact over the coming years.

“Honestly, I think a big problem is the clubs finances to bring over foreign players and provide them with visa, housing, salary, transportation, etcetera.

“Most of the time the larger clubs have no problems, but they are getting offers from the best players all over the world, so the smaller clubs who are looking for players to improve their clubs often have difficulties providing finances,” Sweatman reasoned.

An example of a Jamaican creating waves in Europe is that of home-bred striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who has been in sparkling form for French giants Bordeaux with over 12 goals so far which puts her in the race for the Golden Boot in her freshman season.

Sweatman, who started her Reggae Girlz career with the Under-20 unit, says Jamaica’s qualification to the World Cup in France, has not only dramatically changed the lives of members of the team, but has given rise to hope that forthcoming generations can also dream and achieve, not only as footballers, but productive women of society.

“I believe our qualification changed the football landscape so much, not only in Jamaica, but all of the Caribbean. I think it gave the countries hope and inspiration that anything is possible.

“And my advice to young women in Jamaica, and the rest of the Caribbean, would be that on their journey there are going to be many rough times in the sport and there will be more people who don’t believe in you than those who do believe in you. So, I would say continue to believe in yourself when no one else does,” Sweatman urged.

With today being celebrated as International Women’s Day, Sweatman believes the time for women to stake their claim in football has come, as the sport continues its wide embrace of them.

“Football has empowered me as a female to teach me my own strengths, that I can indeed do anything I put my mind to as well as succeed in any situation no matter who I’m up against.

“Football has changed my life in many ways, and the biggest one is that it has given me the platform to inspire younger girls and also given me the platform to broaden my own horizons,” she concluded.