Leicester City ace Bailey-Gayle receives first Jamaican call-up

Leicester City attacker Paige Bailey-Gayle has received her first call-up to the Jamaican national team.

The 19-year-old prodigy has seen her career go from strength-to-strength with her club over the past couple of years and the player has now received a call from The Reggae Girls despite having previously represented England at various youth levels.

Bailey-Gayle will fly out to link-up with Jamaica in the next few days ahead of the nation’s international friendly double header against Costa Rica. The Reggae Girls take on Costa Rica on Thursday and next Sunday on neutral territory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The games will act as preparation for the start of FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifying in February next year.

Head coach Hubert Busby Junior has selected eight English-based players in his squad in total. Bailey-Gayle is joined in the squad by two other uncapped players in Drew Spence (Chelsea) and Atlanta Primus (London City Lionesses) while Becky Spencer (Tottenham Hotspur), Jade Bailey (Liverpool), Vyan Sampson (Charlton Athletic), Satara Murray (Bristol City) and Khadija Shaw (Manchester City) have also been selected.

The upcoming friendlies are Jamaica’s first matches in four months since they were defeated 4-0 by the United States in The Summer Series.

📢Squad Announcement 📢#ReggaeGirlz to take on Costa Rica 🤩
.#ReggaeGirlz #Rooted2Rise #ReggaeGirlzFoundation #StrikeHard #JFF_Football pic.twitter.com/uiJtbCpZAA

— Official J.F.F (@jff_football) October 16, 2021