Jamaica’s top player Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw was omitted from the Reggae Girlz squad to play France next Friday due to passport issues.

Coach Hubert Busby made the disclosure on Friday as he announced his 22-member squad.

But the Reggae Girlz will have some new faces, most notable is 25-year-old Taylor Hinds the captain of Liverpool who plays as a defender or midfielder along with 28-year-old Ipswich Town striker Natasha Thomas.

Another new face will be 20-year-old midfielder Lulu Jarvis who was just transferred from Brighton to Plymouth Argyle in England and Reanna Blades, also 20 years old, of Burnley plus local girl Davia Richards of Jamaica’s champion Frasziers Whip in St Catherine.

“So, in this squad the most notable one, obviously is Bunny. We spoke last week. She has an issue that kind of limits her travel with her passport similar to Konya [Plummer]. So, she’s going to try to look to get that rectified next week,” Busby revealed during a Zoom press conference.

“Hopefully, we get that resolved and we can have them for the next window. But again, it provides an opportunity for us to bring in some new players to evaluate within this phase of the programme,” Busby pointed out.

The squad:

• Goalkeepers: Rebbeca Spencer and Sydney Schneider
• Defenders: Chantelle Swaby, Allyson Swaby, Taylor Hinds, Deneisha Blackwood, Vyan Sampson, Mallah Atkins
• Midfielders: Lulu Jarvis, Atlanta Primus, Jade Bailey, Drew Spence, Sade Adamolekun, Reanna Blades
• Forwards: Natasha Thomas, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Kayla McKenna, Jody Brown, Shania Hayles, Tiffany Cameron, Davia Richards and Mikayla Dayes

The Reggae Girlz will be hunting their third consecutive qualification to the FIFA World Cup in 2027 and qualifiers start in 2025, and these games against France on Friday, October 25 and two further games against South Africa on November 29 and December 2, are invaluable preparations.

“Obviously, we’re missing a lot or most of our college players, as I alluded to before, our pool has grown exponentially close to 60 players, so, it’s very difficult to get them released for that as FIFA has no jurisdiction over the NCAA.

“We’re looking forward to this match versus France since the last time we got together in Brazil in May and into June, the players have kind of settled into their clubs. It’s been an extended break due to the Olympics.”

Bubsy added: “A lot of the players were coming off or just coming off vacation and coming back to get ready to play, so, it’s a little different playing rhythm to us. So, we will continue with our cycle. This is all in preparation for the World Cup in 2027.

“We’re excited to be playing these matches. I think if you’d have said, three years ago that, the likes of Brazil and France are reaching out to play matches against Jamaica regularly, it’s just really a testament to how far this program has come and more importantly, really how far we still need to go as well.”

According to the coach, Jamaica’s chart to the World Cup must be deliberate and they will be targeting playing as many top teams in the world ranking as possible to ensure that they are truly tested.