Concacaf boss Victor Montagliani says all Jamaicans should be proud of the unprecedented achievements of its women footballers at the ongoing World Cup in Australia/New Zealand.

In the same breath, he recognised that the Jamaican success story did not happen overnight, but is the result of targeted development programmes aimed at growing the female game across all its tiers within Concacaf.

The Canadian was speaking against the backdrop of the Reggae Girlz’s historic liner notes at their second-consecutive World Cup where they shocked the football world by qualifying for the knockout stages.

The 43rd-ranked Jamaicans survived a group involving fifth-ranked France and eighth-ranked Brazil, employing an ultra-defensive posture to stifle all offensive forces.

In their Group F matches, the Girlz drew 0-0 with the French, defeated 52nd-rated Concacaf rivals Panama 1-0, then holding Brazil goal-less, which propelled the Girlz to the Round of 16. They now await South American team Colombia in a game slated for Tuesday.

“I am very proud of their accomplishment and every Jamaican should be proud of their accomplishment,” Montagliani told the Jamaica Observer recently.

He said Jamaica’s success and the overall quality of football from other Concacaf teams at the World Cup speak to the power of the Concacaf W ecosystem, which is a driver for the broad-based development of the women’s game across the confederation.

“If you look at, not only the quality of play from our usual suspects US and Canada — although Canada was very disappointing at this World Cup — the other four have shown the quality of play that there is vast improvement which started with the launch of our W strategy in 2019.

“What we’ve done is that through the increase of our competition, which is going to increase even more with our W Nations League and or W Gold Cup in February 2024, we have given the opportunity for these stories and these talents to come out and you see that, notwithstanding the tremendous success of Jamaica to this date.

“Haiti were fantastic at the World Cup and were unlucky not to get better results. Also, Panama and Costa Rica competed for 90 mins in every game they played, and I think, for me, it’s a testament of the commitment of the players and a lot of the players in our region that have taken the opportunity and the investments that we have made into our competitions and have grabbed it by throat,” reasoned Montagliani.

He added that what the world has seen of Jamaica and the other teams in Concacaf is just a preview of greater things to come in the future of the women’s game in the sub-continental grouping.

“I think we have only scratched the surface of the potential of our women’s national teams to exceed at the international level, and you will see that come through for us at the W Gold Cup and, of course, all of Concacaf is behind the Reggae Girlz and the next step forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, president of the Grenada Football Association Cheney Joseph sees Jamaica’s earth-shaking performance as more than a victory for Jamaica, but critically for the Caribbean region and wider Concacaf.

“Jamaica’s performance thus far in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is not only great results for Jamaica and the people of Jamaica, as I believe to myself what they have done is to create an inspiration for athletes from the English, French, Dutch, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

“They have given athletes across our region something to emulate, reminding us all that if you put yourself towards something and you focus and you can be disciplined, you can achieve it,” said the Grenadian football executive.

Joseph, a veteran executive of regional football, says he can vouch for Concacaf that the confederation is fully behind Jamaica to do even more as they ready for their Round of 16 match-up with South American outfit, Colombia, on Tuesday.

“I hope there is more success to come before the end of their journey and what we have seen here is just the start of many great things,” he said.

Joseph says Concacaf W is changing the women’s game in extraordinary ways and at a mind-boggling rate of speed that gives the confidence that there are more “Jamaicas” waiting in the wings for their moments of glory.

“The Concacaf W is a step in the right direction which creates the opportunity for young girls to dream big and to pursue those dreams. So, you will never know that Jamaica may be joined by other Caribbean countries in the future at the World Cup,” said Joseph.