Faced with troubles at home and abroad, Jamaica’s senior women’s football team — or at least a makeshift version of it — will look to defy the odds as they get the country’s 2024 Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualifying campaign up and running against hosts Panama.

The Jamaicans were assigned to Group B along with Panama and Guatemala after falling short in the Concacaf Olympic Play-offs against Canada, but the Reggae Girlz still have a chance to compete in the 2024 Women’s Gold Cup.

For direct qualification, the Reggae Girlz must finish first in their group, and a win today against Panama would be the ideal start.

Quite like the assembling of the Jamaican team ahead of this qualifier, this evening’s match, which gets underway at 6:00 pm, is sure to deliver some drama with the expected on-field fireworks matching controversies surrounding yet another standoff between the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and its senior players which resulted in them rejecting a call-up for these qualifiers plus potentially violent protestation in Panama leading to a change of venue for tonight’s encounter.

Interim Head Coach Xavier Gilbert stressed the challenges ahead but took the opportunity to underline the importance of other players making the most of the chance they have been given.

“They’re not the strongest of players, but it’s an opportunity for them to step up to the plate and shine, and hopefully they can do that. It is going to be tough, but it is important that we get them organised and get the best possible result we can out of the squad,” Gilbert told the Jamaica Observer.

The squad that got Jamaica to the knockout round of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand made itself unavailable for today’s match as well as Sunday’s qualifier against Guatemala at the National Stadium, due to what they described as “constant mistreatment” from the JFF.

As a result, Gilbert was forced to put together a last-minute 23-member squad for both assignments. The team includes a new call-up in 32-year-old English-born Melissa Johnson of Charlton Athletic, while 24-year-old Canadian-born Israela Groves, who is set to earn her first international cap, returns to the setup after being a part of the training camp in Florida earlier this year.

In the meantime, 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup veterans Marlo Sweatman and Chinyelu Asher, as well as goalkeeper Chris-Ann Chambers, Jayda Hylton-Pelaia, Alika Keene, and twins Malikae and Mikayla Dayes, are also in the squad. The remaining members of the team are largely Under-20 players making the transition to the senior level.

“It is going to have its challenges in getting them to work together as a unit. Some of them have been playing together before; it is just to rekindle the spirit they had to get everyone playing together. That’s the focus right now,” Gilbert stated.

Due to a major protest that is projected to last several days, the match that was planned to be played at the Estadio Universitaro in Penonome has been shifted to the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City.

The Panamanians have already played two matches in the qualifiers.

During the September window, they split a pair of games with Guatemala. The Canaleras won the first game 3-0 in Guatemala but lost the second game 3-2 at home. History has shown that when Jamaica and Panama meet, a thrilling football contest is almost guaranteed.

Following a 2-2 tie in the third-place match of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship, Jamaica defeated Panama (4-2) in a penalty shootout on October 16, 2018.

The Reggae Girlz also defeated Panama 3-1 in a friendly international on May 18, 2019, before winning 1-0 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 28, 2023.

Gilbert admits that the game will be difficult with the improvised squad, but he is confident that his players can get a positive result.

“Looking at the Panama team just coming from the World Cup, it is going to be extremely tough, but we just have to be prepared and do what we can.

“Control the variables that we can control and go out and try to execute them so that we can get a result out of the game; that’s our objective. The game plan is to get a result out of the game. We have to try and stay organised and do what we can, and hopefully, that will be good enough,” Gilbert added.

The United States and Canada secured their places by winning the Concacaf Women’s Championship and the Concacaf Olympic play-off, respectively. Meanwhile, as the four top teams in the 2022 COPA America Femenina, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay have also secured a berth in the event.

League A is divided into three three-team groups; the champions will automatically qualify for the Women’s Gold Cup, while the runners-up will compete in the play-offs. They will set up make-or-break matches with the winners of three four-team League B groups, with the play-off winners securing a spot in the competition.