Women's World Cup: Jamaica criticise 'subpar' support from national football federation

Jamaica competed at the Cup of Nations in Australia in February

Jamaican footballers, including Manchester City's Khadija Shaw, have expressed their "utmost disappointment" in the "subpar" support from the country's football federation in the lead up to the Women's World Cup.

In an open letter, the Reggae Girlz have called for "immediate and systematic change" within the Jamaica Football Federation.

They say they missed official matches due to "extreme disorganisation" and have no "contractually agreed upon compensation".

Prior to the World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July, the Reggae Girlz say they have sat down with the JFF "on multiple occasions" to express their concerns, but their "questions go unanswered and concerns unresolved".

"At a time where we should be focused solely on preparing to compete on the world's largest stage, we are unfortunately compelled to express our utmost disappointment with the Jamaica Football Federation," they said in the letter, which was shared on social media by Shaw.

"In recent months, due to extreme disorganisation of camp logistics, we have missed several official Fifa friendly matches. This will undoubtedly impact our preparation for Australia.

"The Reggae Girlz consist of professional and collegiate footballers who are spread out across the world. To be left questioning whether a camp will even take place two to three days before the expected start is unprofessional and often unfairly prohibitive for some of our players."

They added: "We are constantly serving in multiple capacities, trying to overcome inadequate and often unacceptable circumstances, while doing our best to meet the physical and mental demands of the sport we love so much.

"We hope that by using our platforms to express the reality of our situation, our efforts will be reciprocated. We hope there will be immediate and systematic change within our federation and those in charge of protecting the integrity of women's football."

Jamaica will make their second appearance at a Women's World Cup this summer, having become the first Caribbean team to qualify for the tournament at the 2019 edition.

They will face France, Panama and Brazil in Group F.

Earlier this year, JFF president Michael Ricketts said the governing body was struggling to fund the Reggae Girlz's World Cup campaign.

Jamaica forward Cheyna Matthews said the mother of one of her Chicago Red Stars team-mates had set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise $100,000 for the Reggae Girlz.

A sponsorship deal with a fast food chain was announced on Wednesday and Ricketts told radio station Nationwide News Network the JFF was taking the players' concerns seriously and wanted to "provide as much as we can".

BBC Sport has contacted the JFF for comment.