Unlike previous years when the Reggae Girlz build up to a tournament was marred by contractual issues, Head Coach Vinimore “Vin” Blaine gave the assurance that no such issues should come to the fore on this occasion.

Blaine, who was recently appointed for another stint with the Girlz, says the off-field distraction of contractual agreement is far advanced, leaving his team to focus solely on their Fifa Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

“I have been integral in that process with the general secretary, Dalton Wint, and I must commend him for his patience and his involvement in getting the contract finalised,” Blaine said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.

“We are there, there was just one inclusion that should have been done, but all the Girlz are pleased with the contract and we are expecting them to sign, if they don’t sign it before, I am expecting them to sign when they come in later. But there are no issues, all those have been ironed out as I said with my conversations with the general secretary and the Girlz are quite delighted by the contract,” he added.

The Girlz are scheduled to arrive in the island on Monday to start their Concacaf Women’s Championships qualifying journey towards Australia/New Zealand at home against Bermuda next Thursday, before travelling to face Grenada, three days later.

They will then visit Cayman Islands on April 9, and complete their first-round fixtures at home to Dominican Republic on April 12.

Another positive for Blaine and his team is that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) was given government approval to have up to 2,500 fully vaccinated fans inside the grandstand for next Thursday’s fixture at the National Stadium.

This decision come as the Government has been heavily criticised for not allowing fans at the Reggae Boyz crucial qualifying games against Mexico and Costa Rica.

In fact, the Boyz were only allowed 5,000 fans for the game against United States.

While the 2,500 is not as much as they would have liked, Blaine welcomed the news, especially with his 23-member squad being largely overseas-born and raised players, some of whom have never had the experience of playing at the stadium and, by extension, in front of a Jamaican crowd.

The JFF has also opened the door to all former national women players, who are fully vaccinated to be accommodated free of cost at the game. However, much like everyone else, these players are required to reserve their spot when the ticketing portal opens.

“This is for me now to jump and say for them to be playing in front of their home crowd and getting the fan support and a taste of the culture is why I would love to have 10,000 fans to make a lot of noise in the stadium. This would let the Girlz recognise what the culture is all about and how passionate we are about football,” said Blaine.

He added: “I think it is going to be a great look and even if we don’t get it (the 10,000 fans) now, we are going to be playing at home again on April 12. I am hoping that what we do here (in the first game) will influence those in control to get more fans in the stadium for us at that time.

“It is something that I think we want to do down the road, even if not in official tournaments. I would love for even after the game, fans can get pictures with them, so I am just as excited as the players.

That said, the veteran tactician pointed out that he is anticipating some good performances from his players, to not only safely navigate the first round of action, but also to hone their spots in the first team going forward.

After first-phase action, 30 nations, placed in six groups of five, will battle for six spots in the second phase, with the winner of each advancing to the final competition. The USA and Canada, the top-seeded teams, earned byes to the eight-team tournament.

“Most of these players have played before and are seasoned campaigners, we are without a few players that were invited but because of documentation issues, they are not here and so we are looking forward to having them in the near future,” he stated.

“So I am interested in all players, I want them to come in and be comfortable playing, I don’t want to put any pressure on these young players. So as long as they come in and perform I will make my decision based on what I have seen,” Blaine ended.