 Welcome back to the Sportsmax zone, newly appointed interim head coach of Rebecca's Reggae Girls, Xavier Gilbert admits it will be a difficult task as his team begins preparation for their two upcoming Konkika Gold Cup qualifiers. Gilbert believes that given the limited time before the team's upcoming set of fixtures, the preparation will be primarily mental and tactical. The Reggae Girls are scheduled to face Panama on the 25th of October before squaring off against Guatemala at home on the 29th. Gilbert, who served as an assistant to former head coach Lawn Donaldson, was appointed to the role following the non-renewal of Donaldson's contract. Now Gilbert was scheduled to join us to have a discussion with us on the show today, but he has since indicated his unavailability. And I guess Mariah and Ricardo can help me break down what faces the Reggae Girls at the moment. One of their biggest fans, Mariah Ram-Harak, of the Reggae Girls, but they're in a spot of bother as far as preparation is concerned for the inaugural Konkika Gold Cup. We've all welcomed the advent of a Gold Cup for women and now the Reggae Girls appear to be short of preparation for this. Yeah, and in your opening you said, you know, coach, of course citing coach, saying that the preparation will be mental and tactical. And Lawns, because of the few days that we have left, it can only be mental and tactical because there are a couple days left, we get ready to face Panama. And I think for me, having Xavier Gilbert, who is, who was a part of the Lawn Donaldson setup, it has positives for me, especially because he would be a part of the plan that the ladies were accustomed to, you know, he knows the same. And I was looking forward to talk to coach to find out, you know, if he's going to deviate from the plans that they were going with initially, because I think that would be a, it would play a major part in what happens to the girls and the chemistry around the team. Because if coach now continues on the path that they were going under, and I'm talking about strategy, style, tactics, all these different things, then the ladies would not have to adjust differently. It's not a new person. It's not a new setup. So for me, I'd be okay with that because there's some form of continuity. Now that we can't speak to coach because he's unavailable. I still have those questions in my mind, Ricardo, because all those three of us sit on the show every day. We do things differently. So we may have similarities, maybe in the way we edit something or maybe not. And for me, I would have loved to hear from coach, is it that you're going to stick to what Lawn Donaldson was doing, just to ensure that the girls are continuing something they started? Or are you going to come out with your new style and change things up a bit? Yeah, I take the point, Mariah. But I think Xavier Gilbert has some bigger issues at this stage. As it is at 446 Jamaica time on this Friday, the 20th of October, a squad has not been released for the reggae girls and their two matches. The Panamanian squad for the 25th has already been released. And based on what we're hearing in the local media, a number of the first choice players, those who went to the World Cup, those who competed in Olympic qualifying against Canada have said they are unavailable for the matches that are upcoming. And so a bigger issue for Xavier Gilbert as he takes this interim head coach position is where he is going to get players to take part in this two-match series. And it could be a massive blow for Jamaica's women's football if come the Gold Cup next year, they are not part of it. And these two matches will go a long way in determining whether the reggae girls will be involved in the Gold Cup next year. But massive issues for coach Gilbert taking over this team. Yeah, you know what, I heard the technical committee chairman Rudolph Speed on local radio this morning on hits FM. And there is clearly an issue that you just pointed to Ricardo, because at the moment we are unclear as to the number of girls that will be available. When I say the number of girls, I mean the regulars who competed in the World Cup. And it seems that quite a few of them have acknowledged or stated their unavailability and speed appears to be quite upset about that because there is a contractual arrangement as far as he's concerned for them to be available. He did suggest that there are a lot of other players that are keen to play and qualified to play. So he isn't that worried that they won't have a squad. But the fact that they haven't named the squad yet is, as you said, Ricardo, a huge problem because the match is five days away. And to Gilbert's job, how does a coach prepare a team for such important matches, two of them coming five days apart, and he doesn't even have his squad to work with. And Mara mentioned earlier on that, yes, he had been assistant to Law and Donaldson before, so he had been accustomed to working with the girls. But it seems quite evident that a lot of the girls that they had worked with may not be there. So he may have a new slate to work with. And he did suggest, Rudolf, speed that they have about 18 or 19 players that are available to play, but they wanted to get a few more to complete a 23 setup. But there's obviously a problem there that is huge and it needs to be hurdled in time for this opening game. Yeah. And they're not starting on a good foot with coach. It's very, very unfair this situation that he has found himself in. What I will, and I want to add this, what we've seen from the regular girls before is they bind together. And the letter that we saw with all of their signatures recently is one example of that. So you heard on that interview that they have 18 players available. Let's just say the senior ones may not have gotten the chance to speak to them as yet because the ladies, they all feel the same way. They have always expressed as a group and as a team, as a unit, all the different issues they're having. It's not as if you alone have this course that you're championing. I'm on my own. They have really always bind together and spoke out as a collective unit. So what I will say is Lance, as of this morning, he could say he had 18. We don't know what's happening during the day today in the communication. You know, they all feel the same way. You know, I have to be very careful how I say this because I don't want to review us to get the wrong impression of what I am going to say. No, it is clear that the Jamaica Football Federation has failed the regular girls and the regular girls have every right in the world to be upset with the Jamaica Football Federation, whether it be the financial issues or it is the issues surrounding the coach, not renewing the contract of Lauren Donaldson and then not having a timely plan in place as to how you would replace Lauren Donaldson. So the regular girls have every right in the world to be upset. But from my standpoint, Lance and Mariah, one of the things I like to look at whenever I'm making a massive decision is what is the big picture here? The big picture for the regular girls should be moving women's football forward. And so everything that they do as a unit should be having in mind that they want to move the game. They want to move women's football in Jamaica forward to the next level. You've already had historic performances by getting to the World Cup. And so the question I would ask by making ourselves unavailable for these two matches against Panama and Guatemala, are we advancing our overall goal of moving Jamaica's women's football forward or are we more likely to hurt that ultimate goal? If the answer to that is yes, you are more likely to hurt the ultimate goal, then for me, this strategy is therefore not the right one in terms of making yourself unavailable. I would be looking at some other ways of bringing the point across that what is happening is unacceptable. And I know I'm going to be told that the girls have tried before, before the World Cup, they wrote a letter. One of the things I don't think that the girls have done enough of, yes, we see letters, I think two or three of them now. But what they haven't done is to elect particular persons to come forward and speak with the media, especially the local media, local and regional media. Yes, when they got to the World Cup, we saw a lot of stories coming out of the international press. But how many opportunities has the local media had to speak with the girls and hear their side of the story? And I would like them to think about it from that standpoint, because in my opinion, Lance and Mariah pulling out of this two-map series, goal qualifying series does not help Jamaica's women's football. And in my opinion, will hurt the game in Jamaica significantly more than it will help. And I understand what they're trying to achieve. And I understand that they feel hurt by the way they have been dealt with by the Jamaica Football Federation, but this is not the way I would have approached it. Well, I'm hoping and being mispositive here that come October 25, these payment issues are sorted and the girls are ready to go because I mean, Lance, we've spoken about every time we talk about the reggae girls, they do something well on the field. And then we have to come back on this set again and talk about all the issues that happen off the field. And I feel like it's so demotivating. It's so discouraging. I had the opportunity to sit with Marlo Spetman for a 25-minute interview. She hasn't played for the reggae girls for some time, but she really looks up for that spot. She's working on it. She really wants to represent, but sitting on the outside and hearing everything that's taking place back home, maybe she got away. You know, when you think about it, because we're always sitting here discussing things that don't concern on the field performances. Everything else is getting in the way. Yeah. Confrontation between athletes and administration is nothing new. And I hear you Ricardo and you've put it accurately in the sense that from the standpoint of advancing the game, the move that the girls, whichever of them making themselves unavailable, is not the best for moving the game forward. Having said that, it is clear for the years now that there is a combative, confrontational even relationship between the reggae girls and the Jamaica Football Federation. And I know sometimes the man in the street often takes the side of the athlete against the administration. And a lot of times that's emotion and that's just how you feel about your sports stars. My experience in this business tells me that it's not easy to deal with elite athletes. They have personalities sometimes that make them very difficult to manage. Having said that, the persons in charge of managing them have the responsibility to manage them efficiently. And that job at the moment lies with the Jamaica Football Federation. And I think it is in their hands to mend the relationship with the girls. And in a situation like this where we have seen the constant confrontation between the reggae girls and the Jamaica Football Federation, it is in the Federation's best interest to maybe have an arbitrator or something. I understand, Ricardo, what you're saying. They have to sit down and talk and thrash out the issues to advance the game. Because from where I sit, the girls are frustrated and they have reached a point that even though they may recognize that they are hurting the game, they feel it is untenable for them to interact with the JFF in a compromising way or in a consolation way to say, all right, this is Jamaica Football, so let's put Jamaica Football first. They are at a point where they are given up. And I think Lord Donaldson was at a point where he had given up as well. Because he had been criticized from the standpoint that people were saying, how can you criticize your employers and still expect to hold your job? And I guess in normal business practice, the Jamaica Football Federation probably were in the right to not renew his contract based on his outward disrespect to his employers. But I am suggesting that Lord Donaldson may have been frustrated himself and didn't care whether he was fired or not or not have a contract renewed or not. And it's the JFF's business to manage football. And it's difficult. I know it is. And because they are castrapped as well, that brings other issues with it as far as managing the football. But the JFF's performance as administrators of football isn't impressive. I would give them one out of 10. And because their reputation based on track record is so poor, it is natural that the average man in the street, the sportsman in the street will more feel sympathy for the girls than the JFF in a situation like this. And that's unfortunate. Yeah. From what I've heard on the local radio stations at least, it seems to me that it's split in terms of the support for the JFF and the support for the girls on this issue. I want to say this though, because I think there are a few specifics that keep getting thrown around. So one thing, for example, I get the impression that there is a feeling within the JFF hierarchy, definitely at the level of the technical committee, that the girls want to demand and select who the coach is or who the coach is going to be. And that the Jamaica Football Federation may be saying, that's not something we can allow as a federation. And they're correct. Yes. And they are correct. That may be fine. But if you're going to take that line as a federation, then you have to be very quick and decisive and competent in how you deal with the matter. So when you do not renew the contract of Lauren Donaldson, you must have your plan in place ready to be implemented. There is no way that you do not renew Lauren Donaldson's contract. You have no plan. And you get to October 20, and you have named an interim coach only a day ago, and no, we cannot get a squad for the game. Which is the point I'm making, Ricardo. I understand their difficulties. But if you are going to carry out your business of management in an efficient way and get buy-in from your stakeholders, then there's a level of competency that you have to exhibit to make people believe in what you're doing. And I think the JFF has failed in that regard. But I understand the point that you're making, because there's been this growing feeling that the rigor girls want to run the program. And if you're the JFF, you can't allow that. You can't allow that. But how you deal with it is also extremely important. And again, maybe the Jamaica Football Federation has not done the best job in dealing with that particular issue. But you're putting it mildly, Ricardo. You're being kind. I am a kind fellow. They always say respect is earned, and I think if they handled things differently, we would not have been in this position. Let's take a quick break, team. Yeah, we have a lot more to talk on the sports matter. By the way, before we get out of this Cool Boy football segment, remember we were speaking about the rigor girls earlier in the show. Since that discussion, Coach Xavier Gilbert has released a squad for the Conker-Calf Gold Cup qualifying matches. Let me quickly go through this. Now, the release from the Jamaica Football Federation says let's see three players, Destiny Powell, Chrison Chambers, and Chanille Buckley have been recalled from the Panam team now in Chile, and will join the delegation in Panama. The squad is now scheduled to assemble in Panama City on Monday. Training is set for 5pm. Now, I've just gotten this squad, but I don't see any member of the World Cup squad listed here. Let me run through quickly. So, Chrison Chambers and Javonte Jones are the goalkeepers. Then you have defenders, Lauren Reed, Malikey Daze, Zoe Vidari, Neva Gale Abel, Chanille Asher returns to the rigor girls setup. She was part of the unit in 2019. Alikey Keyen, Israela Groves, Rikaela Walker, Marla Sweatman, another player returning to the rigor girls setup. She was part of the 2019 squad. Davia Richards, Michaela Daze, Chanille Buckley, Natalia Atkinson, Destiny Powell, Melissa Johnson, Sidney Street, Jada Hilton, Pelaya, Alia Morgan, Shanane Nelson, and Tayisha Nelson. I think what is very obvious from reading through those names, Lance and Mariah, these are not the players that we have become accustomed to seeing in the rigor girls setup over the last year or so. Yeah, which confirms that the problem is massive. The deadlock between the rigor girls and the Jamaica Football Federation is huge. The only two that stood out is Chanille Asher and Malou, because I interviewed her a few weeks ago. Yeah, and they're returning to the squad. We'll take a break. We'll get back with more on the Sportsmax Zone.