September 26 – To mark the contribution of the Windrush Generation to the UK culture and economy, Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz will make their first ever official trip to Europe to play Nottingham Forest Ladies.
The match, played as part of Nottingham Forest’s Diversity and Community Inclusion Agenda, will be played at the City Ground on October 28 and will be a celebration of the Windrush generation and of Caribbean Family Culture. Family Fest will be provided including Jamaican food supplied by local companies, performances by Nottingham’s Reggae artists as well as special events for visiting guests from Jamaica, the wider Caribbean and the UK.
Jamaica’s womens team are currently preparing for the final round of France 2019 World Cup qualification having won all their matches in the first phase. They face Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba in Group B between October 5 and 17 and need to finish in the top two to progress.
While the match will be the Jamaican womens’ first taste of playing football in Europe, for Nottingham Forest the event not only pays tribute to the contribution of the Jamaican community in Nottingham, but also raises the profile of the club’s women’s team.
“We are delighted that the plans for this celebratory match have received so much support and interest from many quarters. Our primary objective is to raise the profile of Nottingham Forest Ladies and to acknowledge and support the contribution of the Jamaican Community in Nottingham. We wish to do this in a way which involves our fans and supporters and which is inclusive and reflects the spirit of our Club,” said Forest chairman Nicholas Randall.
The initiative is not just a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the ‘Empire Windrush’ liner that landed the first Caribbean immigrants to join the rebuilding of post-war Britain in 1948, but also comes as an important reinforcement of the values of a multi-cultural Britain and the contribution the Caribbean has made to British society. It is especially relevant following the British political scandal this year that a number of people of Caribbean descent wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office, many of whom had been born British subjects.
While the diversity and inclusion message is clear, Jamaican Football Federation president Michael Ricketts focussed on the football benefits and looking forward to building future relationships and co-operation with Nottngham Forest. “The fact that they have chosen to invite our Senior Women’s Team to play the Nottingham Forest Ladies is a further sign of how women’s football is rapidly coming of age,” he said.
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