Jamaica’s national women’s team head coach, Lorne Donaldson, had told FIFA that his Reggae Girlz would go toe-to-toe with rivals in Group F of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and try to get out of the group and make all hell break loose.
Three games in and not only are the Jamaicans one of only three teams not to concede a goal, but the Caribbean’s top team created history by becoming the first team from the region to qualify for the Round of 16 at any World Cup Tournament.
The qualification was made possible after the Jamaicans opened with a 0-0 result against the world number five-ranked France, edged CONCACAF neighbors Panama 1-0 for a first World Cup victory, then closed out with another stifling 0-0 result against the world number eight-ranked Brazil.
That result booted Brazil at the group stage, a first such failure in six cycles.
“It’s a tough group, but you know what? You go all around and try to get a result from one of those teams, and all hell breaks loose. So, that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s one of the reasons why we’re in Australia and New Zealand,” Donaldson told FIFA prior to the start of the tournament.
He added: “It’s a tough group, but that’s why stories are written. People go in and try to change the narrative and a great story comes out of it. I don’t think we’re going to be fazed by it. We’re going to go in and try to get results.”
Truth be told, all hell did break loose and many stories were written, not just on the Reggae Girlz’ magnificent accomplishment in only their second World Cup Tournament, but also on the fact that Brazil, the South American champions with vast resources and a previous beaten finalist, bowed out at the group stage courtesy of Jamaica, a country with a small population, but big hearts.
“I came back into it because I realise we can embrace women’s football like we embrace track and field, give the track and field credit, the Sunshine Girls (netball) are doing well, that’s why we do this. We do this for the love of the country, for the love of the girls first.
“If it was a money thing I could go work for a lot of jobs, I’ve got offers from all over, but I said I want to stick with my people. I want to show them we can also do it on the big stage. I’m very happy that it turned out the way it did, I’m happy for the country and I’m happy for the people down there, I’m happy for the people who support it… Babsy Grange (Sports Minister) and the Prime Minister (Andrew Holness) and that crew, the JFF who supported it, Cedella Marley, one of our main supporters, and the Reggae Girlz Foundation, all these people step in,” Donaldson told the media days after the historic achievement.
But how did the 43rd-ranked Reggae Girlz defy the odds and secure a place among the top 16 teams at the end of the group stage?
The answer is simple. Lorne Donaldson!
It appears it was divine intervention.
In early 2020, Donaldson, then interim head coach of the Reggae Girlz senior team, resigned from all duties relating to the women’s football programme.
He said his decision was primarily based on the questionable integrity and lack of professionalism within the leadership of the JFF.
He had been an assistant coach to Hue Menzies when the Reggae Girlz first qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 in France.
But in June 2022, he returned to the head coach’s role with the Reggae Girlz after the players had written to the JFF leadership expressing serious concerns with the training methods and competence of then head coach Vin Blaine, who eventually resigned.
“It was a tough decision. If you ask my wife, she would’ve said, ‘what are you doing?’ because I’ve been involved since 2015 and in 2019 I stepped out of it.
“But I decided to step back into the job and try and help the girls. I did it because of the country and because of the girls. It has nothing to do with me. My wife wasn;t very happy at the time, but I think now she’s ok!” he had told FIFA.
Now residing in Denver, Colorado, Donaldson started his playing career as an astute defender at Kingston College in Jamaica’s popular schoolboy football competition.
He graduated to one of the premier senior team clubs in the country, Cavalier Soccer Club, where he played in the nation’s top-flight competition.
The defender also played senior international football for Jamaica between 1975 and 1979.
In 1980 he entered the Metropolitan State University in Denver where he was considered one of the greatest players in their history after playing three years to 1982. During that period he was an All-American player. He earned his degree in Physical Education and at the end of his college playing career, he served his school as assistant coach for three years from 1983 to 1985.
Donaldson became the first soccer player to be inducted into the Metropolitan State University Hall of Fame in 1995.
But that was just the start of his service to football, particularly in the United States of America.
He would transition into coaching as a player/coach for the Denver Kickers and pro team, the Colorado Foxes and after successful stints with both, including two APSL National Championships with the Colorado Foxes, Donaldson started investing his time in youth soccer, specifically with Douglas County Blast, later Real Colorado in 1997.
Because of his vision and leadership, that entity has grown to be regularly considered one of the top 20 clubs in the USA and a pioneer in the US Soccer Development Academy and Elite Clubs National League.
He was the co-founder of the Black Soccer Coaches Association of America, helping to bring African and Caribbean players and coaches a better understanding of the American football culture.
He has been an accomplished instructor with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for over many years and was inducted into the Colorado Youth Soccer Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievement in youth soccer.
Donaldson has worked with many top players in his career, including Carlos Valderrama, Marcela Balboa, John Spencer, Tiafour Diane, Robin Frazer, Raul Diaz Arce, Pablo Mastrioni, Mark Chung, Jeff Hooker, Kyle Beckerman, Chris Henderson, Ted Eck, Chris Martinez, Tom Stone, Tom Soehn, Chad Ashton and Jamaican players such as Walter Boyd, Fabian Davis, Wolde Harris, Greg Messam, Chris Dawes and Anthony McCreath.
With such a resume, it’s hardly any surprise then that his Reggae Girlz have been so stingy at the back, keeping the feared France and Brazil at bay.
Let’s see if the trend continues when they face South American outfit Colombia on Tuesday morning.
