The recently concluded Reinas Cup, the Under-20 football competition for girls, has been given the proverbial thumbs up by both sponsors and coaches alike, even as they clamour for more in the coming years.

The inaugural competition ran for three months during the summer and is the brainchild of Neo Oxford, founder of Reinas Academy, an all-girls’ football academy.

Neo, who is the son of Kingston College legend and former Reggae Boy Neville Oxford, says that even while he is still in the process of assessing the 2022 edition of the Reinas Cup, plans are already being put in place for next year.

“Like any other event, there are things to learn from and things that will need to be addressed or implemented come next year but being the first of its kind in Jamaica it was a huge success.

“Not once did a team fail to show up for a game, not once did a referee fail to be present, not once was field not prepared. That is what happens when all parties work together, and I must thank the other participating teams for believing in the dream as well.

“This was the pilot run, and we were able to garner six sponsors and already corporate has shown interest for next year, so yes we are coming bigger and better.”

Peter Issa of title sponsor Issa Construction Limited was pleased with the success of the competition and the opportunity it gave to the participants in the tournament.

“Based on the success and impact this year, Issa Construction is very pleased that we decided to be the main sponsor of the Reinas Cup football tournament. We believe that it is very important to give these girls and opportunity to train and to compete with one another as it will continue to broaden their skill sets.”

Issa said that sponsorship of the competition was primarily to give the young girls an opportunity to play football but believes that a lot can come of it over time.

“Women’s football is very important today and it’s not shown enough attention and I have a strong belief in giving these girls an opportunity and that’s the main reason why I decided to sponsor it. I know a lot of big companies go where the money is, but I believe that we can turn this competition into one of the biggest competitions and make it profitable one day.

“But we did it to give these girls an opportunity first and foremost and it seemed to have turned out very well,” he said.

While giving the assurance of being onboard as a sponsor again next year, Issa also indicated that he will be helping to bring more sponsors in to help grow the tournament.

“It is a guarantee that we will be back onboard next year, and we are currently in talks with Neo about bring on more sponsorship to allow the tournament to be bigger and better next year. We believe that this is just the start, the sky is the limit and the goal at the end of the day is to give these girls a platform to be able to reach wherever they want to go in life,” he commented.

Peter Allen, who was responsible for the formation of BayLynx Academy, thinks the tournament will help to propel women’s football to new heights in Jamaica.

“I think going forward, this tournament is going to be something tremendous in helping women’s football in Jamaica. I’m looking forward to what’s next, I am looking forward to this being one of the catalysts for girls’ football.

“I think with what JFF has planned, that it will help to bring things together. I think in the next year or two we will see a tremendous upshift in women’s football.”

Robert Simpson of Top Rock Sports, who was the gear sponsor for the tournament, also gave his assurance of being onboard next year.

“What I have seen so far is some young ladies with real quality. They displayed some amazing football, amazing skill. Top Rock Sports is grateful to Reinas to invite us as a sponsor, and we are looking to continue this partnership,” he said.

Kadeesh Fishley, head coach of champions Next Gen Academy, who described the tournament as a blessing, was delighted that younger players were given an opportunity to play together competitively for the first time in a tournament form in Jamaica.

“I think it is very good, especially for that age group. We have struggled in this age group and younger for years and we haven’t had a competition. For us, it’s always the Premier League and that’s it. So, for us to have this competition, it’s a blessing and hopefully it can continue to get bigger, we can include more teams and probably have different age groups as well,” she reasoned.

Stafford Marshall, head coach of losing finalists Kingston Football Academy (KFA), thinks that the Reinas Cup could become the catalyst for growth of girls’ football on the island.

“I think it’s quite fantastic. I mentioned it to Neo, the mere fact that he made it a youth tournament and not women’s, is a good start. I think the next step from there is U-17 and U-15, all the way down.

“What will develop all of these young ladies, not just KFA but all of the academies, is if we get a system in place where they are playing football year-round, from grassroots coming up,” he reasoned.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Football Federation, through the head of Women’s Football, Elaine Walker-Brown, has promised that there will be a return of the Premier League later this year.