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‘Bunny’ Shaw to lead Reggae Girlz at WC qualifiers
November 25, 2025
With Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr eyeing a strong start to their Concacaf World Cup (WC) qualifiers campaign, he has welcomed the return of Jamaica's all-time top goalscorer Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw to the national team.
Busby named his 21-player squad for the WC Qualifiers yesterday in a Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) press conference, which included the likes of Manchester City's Shaw.
The prolific striker has been absent from the squad for almost a year due to injuries and health concerns with her club.
Now with the striker back in the fold, Busby described her a "quality professional" and a boost to the squad.
"Obviously, Bunny is one of one," Busby said. "She's a top pro and a quality professional.
"The way that we want to play was always with a little bit of her in mind in terms of our philosophy and what we want to do, what is expected from that number nine position," he continued.
"I think those two or three training sessions will be enough ... we don't foresee any issues with her being integrated, having been out for a while now."
Jamaica are drawn in Group B for the WC Qualifiers, alongside Dominica, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Antigua and Barbuda, with the group winner to advance to the Concacaf WC Championship.
The Reggae Girlz will begin their campaign against Dominica on Saturday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.
Busby hopes for a great start as he hopes to set the tone for a successful campaign.
"It's important that we have a strong performance, and we're laying the foundation for strong performances throughout this campaign," Busby said.
"We want to get off to a great start, have a great week of training leading into the match, and we're approaching each and every match with the respect it deserves.
"Our preparation this week will be thorough to ensure that when we go out there, we're firing on all cylinders and to the best of our abilities."
IN-FORM PLAYERS
Busby said in order to do this, he has selected players who have been doing well in their competitive environment.
"One of the things each and every week, even coming out of the last camp, was just seeing how the players were doing within their environments, the minutes that they were playing, and being in form was a really big part. It's always a big part," Busby explained.
"The players who haven't been selected, it's because of the same criteria," he continued,
"They just have not been playing enough matches within the last six weeks. So we wanted to make sure in a short period of time that we had players who were playing, for the most part, regularly, or they're in professional or college environments."
Jamaica are looking to make their third consecutive appearance at the FIFA Women's World Cup, following their debut in 2019 and a second appearance in 2023.
Should they top the group, they will advance to the WC Championships, which has seen a change in format.
Rather than its usual group format, this year's tournament will be played in single-leg knockout games.
The four semi-finalists at the WC Championships will qualify for the 2027 FIFA World Cup, while the next-best two teams will advance to FIFA's Intercontinental Playoffs for another chance at qualification.
The two finalists at the WC Championships, and the third-place team, will also qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
