Shaw confirms partial Girlz payment

Reggae Girlz star player Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw has confirmed to the RJRGLEANER Communications Group that some members of the team have received part payment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).

Shaw and many of her teammates went viral on social media on Monday when they said that they would not make themselves available for future games unless they were paid all the monies owed to them by the JFF, as per their contractual agreement.

JFF president Michael Ricketts had told THE STAR that part payment was made to the players' accounts on Friday, but the remainder would be made later this month after it is received from FIFA, the world governing body.

Shaw now confirms that the payment was received but said it is not enough.

"Half the team, if not majority of the team, received 50 per cent," she said. "However, we did not sign a 50 per cent contract. We should have been paid in full from before August 30, so this doesn't change anything, especially since it's not the 100 per cent that we were legally promised."

Payment issue

This payment issue is not the first time the team and the JFF has been at odds, as the Reggae Girlz held out on signing contracts for a number of months after qualifying for their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup last October. They were said to be unsatisfied with the terms on offer then. A number of players also took to social media in September last year criticising the JFF for a lack of training camps ahead of their final round of World Cup Qualifying."

Early in 2018, the JFF was also involved in a prolonged contract dispute with senior men's team head coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore and his assistant Jerome Waite. That matter was, however, settled with the assistance of Sports Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange.Jamaica's senior women's team is supposed to be in action in Olympic qualifiers between September 30 and October 8, but what team, if any, turns out for participation now depends on how soon the remaining funds are received by the Girlz.