AFTER the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) launched what has been described as a groundbreaking strategic plan for women’s football, chairperson of the Projects Committee for Women’s Programmes Carlene Edwards says it can significantly improve the sport’s ecosystem over the next five years.

The strategy, which was unveiled on Monday in Kingston, was done in collaboration with the executives of the JFF, FIFA and Professional Women’s Football Jamaica Limited and outlines several key objectives to be achieved by 2031, the same year Jamaica is set to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It has also unlocked access to programmes offered by world governing body FIFA to help initiate and execute.

The strategic plan focuses on seven major pillars — governance and leadership, grassroots development, competitions and pathways, technical development, national teams, commercial sustainability, and capacity building and welfare.

Edwards, who has served as chairperson of the Jamaica Women’s Premier League’s Marketing and Commercialisation Affairs Committee for the past two years, was appointed to the FIFA Women’s National Competitions Committee last October.

Carlene Edwards, chairperson of the JFF Projects Committee for Women’s Programmes, speaking at the launch of the JFF Women’s Strategic Plan 2026-2031 in Kingston on Monday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

After attending a FIFA Council in Qatar last December, she says the experience motivated her and JFF President Michael Ricketts to help develop a comprehensive strategy to strengthen women’s football locally.

“When I saw the offerings from FIFA and realised that we weren’t tapping into all of those programmes, despite me serving on the Jamaica Women’s Premier League side, I told him that I will actually support on this side because I know once we’re able to tap into those programmes, the Jamaica Women’s Premier League will also benefit,” Edwards told the Jamaica Observer.

From left: Omar McFarlane, JFF operations manager; Elaine Walker-Brown, JFF vice-president; Shannon MacMillan, FIFA consultant; Christina Hudson, chairperson of Professional Women’s Football Jamaica Limited (PWFJL); Carlene Edwards, chairperson of the JFF Projects Committee for Women’s Programmes; and Andres Portabella, FIFA consultant, at the launch of the JFF Women’s Strategic Plan on Monday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

“So I’m really overly excited being given the task of leading this team in developing the documentation, just seeing how it came to fruition and being able to have a stakeholder workshop a few weeks ago to just get contribution from the different stakeholders and then being able to refine that and then the push from FIFA for us to actually have the strategy launch. I’m really very excited.”

Although the strategic plan outlines more than 50 key actions across seven pillars, its primary targets include a 50 per cent increase in registered players, the licensing of more than 200 female coaches and the qualification of 120 referees.

Edwards says she is optimistic that FIFA support and growing private-sector interest will help the federation achieve its targets.”

“It is difficult now as we see it,” she said. “However, based on the many programmes that FIFA has available and not just programmes, but programmes with funding, we’re able to kickstart what we’re doing. I think the major thing for us is especially on the development pathways because we don’t have a lot of girls competition taking place for that transition to be made into the senior level. So, with some of the funding that is available, we are actually able to execute on some of those.

“What we’ve also seen recently, based on what we would have executed in the league is that corporate sponsors are reaching out to us to provide support for the league. So, I think it’s one step at a time. I know it is still challenging and we’re not where we need to be, but I think gradually we’ll get there.”

Members of the Jamaica senior women’s football team celebrate their fourth goal against Antigua and Barbuda during their Group B match in the Concacaf Women’s Qualifiers at the National Stadium on Friday, April 10. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

The JFF could secure more than US$265,000 ($41.7 million) from FIFA through it’s respective programmes. After witnessing the work done by stakeholders, FIFA consultant Andres Portabella told the
Observer that he’s confident the targets can be achieved.

“Humans make the difference and you can see clearly here a group of committed individuals that are looking to grab the FIFA Women’s Development Programmes and put them into action in Jamaica,” Portabella said. “They are ready to take advantage of this quite momentous moment to go from the strategy to implement, to impact the league, to impact the grassroots level and to also impact the coaches in Jamaica. Then, more women have more opportunities, and slowly but surely we see an even greater ecosystem here in Jamaica.”

JFF Vice-President and Head of Women’s football Elaine Walker-Brown is urging her compatriots to take women’s football more seriously.

“I’m not paid to do what I do; it’s for the love of the sport,” Walker-Brown told the Observer. “A lot of people have come and they realise that it’s not monetary and they are gone.

“But we have the parish associations — we take up this responsibility as presidents and executive members, and we are running the men’s football so why we can’t do the same with the women’s development in your parish? So this is what I’m banking on and that the JFF hold the parishes accountable to assist with the development of the women’s programme.”

The JFF is expected to appoint a head of women’s football development before the end of the year to help oversee the plan’s execution.