Deal discussions after South Korea

ALTHOUGH HIS immediate focus is on the upcoming friendly with South Korea, national interim senior women’s head coach, Lorne Donaldson, says that he is optimistic about wrapping up details of his extension to the post to lead the team for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Donaldson, who led the Reggae Girlz to their second consecutive World Cup appearance, will be in charge of the squad when the Jamaicans face South Korea in an international friendly on Saturday, as preparations begin for next summer’s tournament.

Donaldson’s initial deal ended after the Concacaf Women’s Championship in July where they finished third in the tournament, also securing them a Tokyo 2024 Olympic play-off with reigning Olympic champions Canada next year.

While Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Michael Ricketts, said in July that Donaldson will be retained for next summer’s tournament with contracts to be drafted, Donaldson said that there are still details to be ironed out with him and the team that he hopes to have, with the hopes that they will be completed after the international window.

“I haven’t finalised any deal yet, so I am just going to take this trip and go and come back and just try to sort everything out. But there is no contractual deal with any of the coaches that have been finalised,” Donaldson told The Gleaner. “But we are talking, so that’s good. So hopefully when we get back, we can just finalise everything and everybody can be comfortable and we can have a staff ready to go.”

Donaldson took temporary charge of the team following the resignation of Vin Blaine in April, following dissatisfaction among the players regarding his communication and leadership during his five-month return to the head coach post. Donaldson had stated earlier this month that he would have serious discussions with Ricketts after the Emancipation and Independence celebrations.

Eleven of the 13 technical staff members are already in South Korea for the series, as well as all 23 players who have been called up for the two games.

While not willing to declare a marker on how close he is to agreeing to a deal, Donaldson was confident that there will be no hurdles in finalising terms.

“That’s a hard one to put a percentage on. That is like playing Russian roulette, that is very difficult. I wouldn’t put a percentage on it. But we will come to some agreement and I think it is going to be worked out,” Donaldson said.

When contacted, JFF vice president, Raymond Anderson, directed updates on negotiations to Ricketts. Telephone calls to Ricketts went unanswered.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com