Jamaica's Women's World Cup squad paid after boycott, says federation

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Jamaica's players celebrate reaching the World Cup knockout round in August

The Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) says its Women's World Cup squad has now been paid after a row which saw the players boycott Gold Cup qualifiers.

The squad refused to play against Panama and Guatemala this week, accusing the JFF of delayed payments and poor management.

"We are always grateful for the contribution made by all our players," the federation said on Friday.

The players have not confirmed if they have received the money.

Last week the Reggae Girlz announced the boycott after saying they had not received full pay for their World Cup performances or bonuses for qualifying.

The players also said they only found out they had a new head coach on social media.

The squad produced a historic performance at last summer's tournament in Australia and New Zealand, reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

Featuring Women's Super League players such as Manchester City's Khadija Shaw and Tottenham's Drew Spence, the team finished ahead of Brazil in their group before losing to Colombia in the last 16.

On Friday, the JFF said it had paid the "full balance" to World Cup squad and would start processing payments to every player who took part in the qualifying matches but did not go to the tournament.

"We are happy that we have been able to settle these outstanding amounts," the federation said in a statement.

The JFF named an inexperienced squad to play in Panama on Wednesday, where they lost 2-1, and for the home match against Guatemala this weekend.