IN an effort to raise an additional $20 million to send the Sunshine Girls team to this year’s Netball World Cup (NWC) tournament in Cape Town, South Africa, Netball Jamaica (NJ) has commissioned a GoFundMe page through which persons worldwide can donate money for the national team.

Simone Forbes, first vice-president of Netball Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer that her organisation has raised $36 million of the $56 million they require to send the team to the tournament, but they are still in need of additional sponsorship to cover the rest of the cost.

On Friday, the government jumped in with $10 million — the latest publicised cash injection.

“We have raised $36 million so far and so we still need an additional $20 [million] to take the team to World Cup…we have persons all over the world who said they want to support as well and so we have decided to add a GoFundMe drive to our individual fund-raising drive,” said Forbes.

“Our hope is to raise the 20 million dollars to take the team to the World Cup, and if we do get in excess of that then, of course, that goes back into the programme.

“We really do need everyone’s support because anything towards it — if it is five dollars, ten dollars or whatever the amount is — we are really looking forward to the support. The girls have a chance of a lifetime to really go for the gold medal at this World Cup and they are not able to do it unless we can provide the support for them,” she noted.

Forbes also shared that her organisation will be sending huge support staff to the NWC tournament, which will be held from July 28 to August, to assist the Sunshine Girls throughout the championships, and therefore every single dollar is very important for this cause.

“This will be the first time that we will be sending a support team like this to the World Cup. And this is what Australia, New Zealand, and England are used to doing so this is the first time that we are sending this type of a team and so we need the support in order to do that,” said Forbes, who is a former captain of the Sunshine Girls team.

Shanice Beckford, vice-captain of the Sunshine Girls, said the team needs all the support that it can get and is encouraging everyone to go to their GoFundMe page and make a donation to the team.

“Every mickle makes a muckle, and we will really appreciate whatever donation that we can get because our goal is 56 million dollars and right now we are at 36 million and so I am encouraging everyone to go out and support our GoFundMe page,” said Beckford.

“I think we have the team to win the gold medal this year because, as you saw at the Commonwealth Games where we won the silver, so [we] believe that once we get to that final in the World Championships that we can take home the gold medal,” she added.

The Sunshine Girls, who are ranked fourth in the world, finished a disappointing fifth at the last NWC which was held in Liverpool, England, in 2019.