Jamaica advances to knockout in 2nd World Cup appearance thanks to crowdfunding
Jamaica's draw to send Brazil packing on Wednesday is among the many incredible storylines coming out of Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 Women's World Cup. But their victory was made possible, in part, long before they took the pitch at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, thanks to fans who helped raise money to get them there.
As the team trained on the field for the tournament, midfielder Havana Solaun's mom Sandra Phillips-Brower hopped online to set up a GoFundme for the team's trip, to ensure they had the money they needed.
The online donation page titled "Reggae Girlz Rise Up" has raised nearly $50,000 as of time of publication.
"The 2019 Women's World Cup in France represented a ground-breaking entry for the small Caribbean island onto an international platform. Their maiden voyage into the competitive arena proved the Jamaican girls are a talented athletic force that had risen to the highest level of soccer," Phillips-Brower wrote in the GoFundMe description.
The Jamaican women's team defeated Mexico, Haiti and Costa Rica to qualify for this year's World Cup. Phillips-Brower noted that the journey down under would be "a costly endeavor" adding it was her intention to "allow both staff and players to focus on the competition by helping raise funds to cover some of the expenses incurred."
The Reggae Girlz Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at helping grow women's soccer in Jamaica, set up a second fundraiser to help the team cover costs on lodging, airfare, ground transportation, food and more, which has also raised over $45,000.
Jamaica's success holding Brazil to a 0-0 draw advanced the "girlz" to the knockout phase for the first time in their second-ever World Cup appearance. The draw also delivered the earliest departure since 1995 for the South American powerhouse team.
According to the Associated Press, the players have repeatedly raised pay concerns and other problems about planning, transportation, accommodations, training conditions and more to the Jamaican Football Federation, who did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
Jamaica will play its next game early Tuesday morning against the winner of Group H -- Colombia or Germany -- which will be decided Thursday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
