The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has announced two international friendly games against Panama for its senior national women’s team, the Reggae Girlz, who are preparing for the Concacaf W Championships later this year.

The games will take place at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez Gutierrez in Panama City, Panama, on Friday, June 5, and Monday, June 8.

JFF President Michael Ricketts is pleased for these fixtures.

“We are delighted to confirm these games for our Senior Women’s National Team ahead of the qualifiers in the United States in November,” he said in a press release on Thursday. “We feel they will be key for us ahead of the crucial encounter against Costa Rica on November 27 as we aim to secure qualification to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

The Reggae Girlz are no strangers to Panama, having beaten them in 2018 to qualify for their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019. They claimed a historic 1-0 win against them at the Women’s World Cup in Australia in 2023 to advance to the Round of 16.

These upcoming games will give this Reggae Girlz squad, which will feature several players who were not a part of those previous campaigns, much-needed experience against Central American opponents as they prepare for Costa Rica knowing a win against them in November qualifies them for not only a third World Cup, but a debut at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Their only game against Central American opposition this campaign was a 3-2 win over hosts Nicaragua in March, where Jamaica trailed early in the first half and were made to work hard for the win, unlike against their Caribbean group mates, where the games ended in one-sided scorelines.

These games replace a proposed match against Nigeria’s women’s team in London, and the JFF also clarified reports it says were inaccurate regarding the cancellation of this fixture.

This game was proposed as a launch for the Unity Cup, featuring their men’s counterparts later this month. It was, however, reported that it was scrapped because of what was described as administrative issues for the JFF, but the body dismissed this saying the cancellation actually regarded proposed fixture dates.

“The organisers of the Unity Cup extended an invitation to the Jamaica Women’s National Team to participate in a proposed match against the Super Falcons of Nigeria as part of the launch of activities for Unity Cup 2026 in the United Kingdom,” the JFF said in a press release on Wednesday. “The proposed fixture dates were May 27, 28, or 30, 2026. However, these dates fall outside of the official FIFA Women’s International Window, which runs from June 1 to June 9, 2026. As a result, clubs would not have been obligated under FIFA regulations to release players for international duty during the proposed period.

“This matter was clearly communicated to the organisers from the outset and discussions continued in good faith in the hope that a suitable arrangement could still be reached.

“At no point was the matter related to administrative shortcomings on the part of the Jamaica Football Federation.”

The JFF, which describes its relationship with the Unity Cup organisers and the Nigeria Football Federation as positive, says it is, however, open to a possible friendly against Nigeria’s women in the future if it fits into FIFA’s international fixture window.

— Rachid Parchment