JAMAICA’s senior women’s football team Head Coach Hubert Busby says he is focused on building a strong team for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. He says he aims to establish principles that play to the strengths and attributes of Jamaican players, enabling them to compete effectively at the highest level.

Busby emphasises the importance of participating in top-tier competitions to achieve this whereby the team can test its skills against the best in the world.

The upcoming two-match international friendlies against hosts Brazil will serve as a benchmark for assessing and improving the team’s competitiveness. Busby says by facing a top-ranked team like Brazil (10th in the world) the Reggae Girlz will gain valuable experience and insight into what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

“We are the beacon light for the Caribbean and we want to inspire other countries within the Caribbean Football Union to strive for excellence,” Busby said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“That means we have to play against the best teams in the world, specifically those ranked in the top 10. By doing so we will be able to assess the players’ progress and continue to grow and improve — that’s the only way that we’re going to continue to test ourselves to see where we are.

“For all of us, including me as a coach and our coaching staff, [we have] to raise the standard because sometimes you play these games where it kind of covers some of the cracks that you may have as a team, and so the only way you really find out where we are is to play the best teams in the world. And we’re looking to do that now, heading into the next year, so I’m excited about that. “We are playing Brazil, one of the top 10 teams. They have a lot going on.”

Busby also recognises the psychological aspect of the game as Brazil may be highly motivated to perform well against the team that knocked them out of the World Cup. He said he is also aware of the dynamics surrounding the match, including the potential farewell games for Brazilian legend Marta and the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.

“So we’re not quite sure what squad they’ll bring out but I think they’ll bring a very experienced squad with a little bit of an eye on the next cycle,” he said. “For us, we can’t control that but we can control what we can do so [we’re] making sure that we’re prepared, we’re organised, and well-structured.

“Again, with the World Cup, just going there you can imagine we’re going in there at a very unique time where the whole world will be and eyes will be watching us and the country, because they’re the host of the 2027 World Cup.

“The Brazilian team is a team we upset and basically knocked out of the World Cup. And again, you look at all the dynamics around this match that we have to really weigh up and take into consideration. There’s arguably Marta, like I said, her, and I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Marta in 2009; and she’s such a great role model for all the players around the world, and what she’s come through, and what she’s meant to the game. So, this is probably her last two games on home soil because she’s retiring.”

Busby said the goal going into these two games against Brazil is to achieve positive results.

“So we’ll take a foundation of ours, all our sort of defending principles and all the attributes of the players that we know we have, and try to give them the best platform for them to be successful during these next two games,” he said.

“We want to have positive results but it really is going to be about laying those principles of not what is now, but what it looks like in 2027. If we keep on deferring in terms of who we are and what we want to be, then I think we’ll never get there so it meant that we had to play a certain way.

“But to advance and take our football to the next level means that we’re also going to have to improve upon that as well because the game and the countries are ever, ever changing.”