The Fifa Women’s World Cup kicked off on Thursday. However, if you are in Jamaica you would be forgiven for not knowing that the country is being represented at the global showpiece. A look around throughout the island would hardly show any signs – no stalls overflowing with miniature Jamaica flags or people donning the national team’s jersey in support of the Reggae Girlz.

The women’s national team stamped their card to the world cup for the second consecutive championship, however questions have been raised about the level of support and excitement that the women’s team has received in response to this major accomplishment.

Dennis Chung, General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), stated that this is a question that only the public can answer as the JFF has been consistent in promoting the Girlz through the federation’s social media platforms and on YouTube, and through press conferences.

“I think this question should be directed at the public. For example have you bought your Jersey and flag and are you wearing it? Social media and JFF promotion through our social media sites and YouTube channel have been consistent and our press conferences about sponsorship have been all about the Girlz and none about the Boyz,” Chung told OBSERVER ONLINE.

Carvel Stewart, vice president of the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) pointed to a two-pronged reason for the lack of overt support and islandwide excitement for the Girlz as they approach their first match on Sunday.

“I think it [disinterest] is more or less natural, in two folds— one it is not yet traditional for our women to be playing football, and two, locally we don’t have a league of the size and nature that would bring more people to viewing it. So until we do those things we won’t have the same level of interest that we have in the males,” Stewart said.

“[The interest] is growing however and so we will have to continue. Remember the women’s team is maybe 20 years— if that long— in participating in the sport so you have to spend some more time developing the tradition to do so,” he added.

When asked what more the JFF could do, Stewart stated that the football federation has not invested as much into the women’s team as it has in the men’s team.

Unlike the national women’s team, the Reggae Boyz qualified for the World Cup only once, and many recall the pandemonium-level excitement when they did so in 1998. The men’s team has not qualified for the World Cup since.

“We need to improve and increase the support at all levels including the JFF level. It is really for them to step up and show that they are more committed to the women more than they have exhibited so far. The truth is the JFF has not invested as much in every respect to the women as they have done for the men,” Stewart said.

But the relative lack of support for women’s football is not just a Jamaica problem, it is a cry that echoes across the world.

Earlier this year, the Canadian Women’s national team reportedly voiced their concern after the country’s football federation announced significant budget cuts to national team programmes, and expressed outraged that the women were receiving less support ahead of the Women’s World Cup than the men did in Qatar last year.

Even in Japan, which won the Women’s World Cup in 2011, support for the female footballers is still lagging, the head of the country’s professional female football league said recently.

Meanwhile, the Reggae Girlz just last month blasted the JFF over a range of issues which they said affected their preparation for the World Cup and threaten the integrity of women’s football in Jamaica.

READ: Reggae Girlz slam JFF over ‘extreme disorganisation’

While the JFF and the Reggae Girlz have had discussions since this public criticism, Stewart said the issues the women raised could affect their performance in the World Cup, which is being hosted in New Zealand and Australia.

“It could… because they may have been better prepared. In other words they needed more practice to get to Sunday than we have had, so to that extent the answer would be yes it will affect the performance,” Stewart said.

He added: “I don’t think [it will affect them] psychological because the Girlz are not going to go out there and think about ‘well we never had that’, what they are going out there to do is try to compete and overcome the opponent they are facing in each of the games. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for them, it’s going to be tough but I think the Reggae Girlz have proven to be tough as well and really good competitors.”

For this, their second time at the World Cup, the hope is that the Reggae Girlz will make it out of the group stage, though they are in a tough group that includes traditional football powerhouses France and Brazil, and Concacaf rivals Panama. The Reggae Girlz will face France in their first match on Sunday at 5am local time.