From Fleming Island to France.
Fleming Island High School senior Sade Adamolekun and Sandalwood graduate Ashleigh Shim were selected Wednesday to Jamaica’s 23-player roster for next month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, where they will compete against the best players on the planet in women’s soccer.
The Jamaican team, known as the Reggae Girlz, will play Brazil in Grenoble June 9; Italy in Reims June 14; and Australia in Grenoble June 18. The nation has qualified for the Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Adamolekun qualifies to represent the Caribbean nation because her mother, Michelle, was born in Jamaica. At 18, she will be among the World Cup’s youngest players, although not the youngest on her own team: Jamaican coach Hue Menzies also selected a 17-year-old in Jody Brown of Montverde Academy.
Her selection comes three days after she set up the second goal in Jamaica’s 3-1 international friendly victory over Panama, a key tune-up for the tournament. She has committed to Southern California for college soccer.
Shim, 25, earned All-First Coast honors at Sandalwood, where she scored 18 goals and 21 assists during her senior season in 2010-11. She subsequently played four years at Florida International, completing her career there in 2014, and has competed in the leagues of Germany and Sweden.
A midfielder, she also qualified to represent the Cayman Islands, but first received the call to represent Jamaica in 2015.
They will become the first Northeast Florida players to compete in a Women’s World Cup. Morgan Brian, from St. Simons Island in Southeast Georgia, represented the victorious American team in 2015 and has also been chosen for the 2019 tournament.
