Cedella Marley has quit her role as global women's football ambassador for the Jamaican Football Federation in protest of ongoing mistreatment of the Jamaican women's national team.
The Reggae Girlz have yet to receive full payment for their remarkable performance at the 2023 Women's World Cup, where they progressed to the Round of 16. They have for years been in conflict with the JFF over unpaid bonuses and other difficulties, for example only receiving news of confirmation of new head coach Xavier Gilbert over social media, three days before their report date.
To protest, players announced they would boycott upcoming Gold Cup qualifiers with Panama and Guatemala. The JFF then suspended the involved players.
Cedella Marley has long supported the Reggae Girlz through the Bob Marley foundation (named for her father), helping to fund their 2019 and 2023 World Cup campaigns. International Chinyelu Asher has called her the "fairy godmother" of the team.
But now, Marley says, she feels the need to speak out:
"As the Ambassador for the women's programme and a fellow Jamaican, I must express my disappointment and growing concern with the way the team has been treated, especially in recent months."
"The Reggae Girlz' patriotism, professionalism and performance has won them fans and favour all over the world. Yet the organisation that has gained the most from this continues to malign, mistreat and vilify them at every opportunity by fostering a blatantly false narrative in the media with no regard for the potential impact on the players or the program itself. The longer this agenda is allowed to advance unchecked, the more the future of women's football in Jamaica is jeopardised."
"With that in mind, I have decided that I can no longer associate myself or my family's name with any organization that would oppress and manipulate the very ones they have a responsibility to support and uplift. Effective immediately, I am resigning from my role as ambassador."
"To my Reggae Girlz, you know that we are family for life, and I am here for you forever!"
JFF President Michael Ricketts responded:
"I am saddened by the unfortunate decision of Miss Marley to cut ties with the Women's Program at this time. We believed we had made significant progress in our discussions, and we were eagerly awaiting the World Cup players to confirm their availability. We must thank Miss Marley and the Bob Marley Foundation for their unwavering support over the years. We want to assure her that the progress we have made will be solidified as we move forward."
JFF elections are set for Jan. 14. Presidential candidate Raymond Anderson, the current vice-president, also responded to Marley:
"This resignation casts a long shadow of mistrust over the current JFF administration. It is now clear that there has been a deliberate effort to discredit our two-time World Cup-qualifying Reggae Girlz. This squad, a beacon of hope and pride for our nation, has been let down. In just three months, the JFF has managed to undo what took Cedella Marley and everyone involved a decade to build."
Last month Anderson's campaign team accused the Ricketts administration of "massive electoral fraud" ahead of the election through the creation of shell companies to disenfranchise the current beach soccer and coach organisations in Jamaica, who were previously able to vote in the elections.
