21-year-old Konya Plummer will captain Jamaica at France 2019

The Reggae Girlz are competing in their first Women's World Cup

Plummer pilots a "hard-working" group ready to surprise

Jamaica’s Konya Plummer will be one of the youngest captains in this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup France™ at just 21 years old, after her country overcame the odds to become the first team from the Caribbean to qualify.

But don’t let that number mislead you into thinking she’s not up to the task. She has the respect of her team-mates, leads by example on the field and says her faith helps her to grasp the role.

“Just thinking about captaining my country at such a young age is crazy, but I believe I was chosen because of my personality and hard work – it’s what god wanted for me,” she said.

“I love people, I can be around people all day. I like positivity.”

That positivity contributed to Plummer’s desire to become a footballer when growing up in the Epsom area of Saint Mary, Jamaica, playing barefoot on the local fields with her cousins and friends – all of whom were boys.

She said that her toughness on the field came from playing football, cricket and other sports with those boys, because if she showed any sign of weakness, she would not be accepted.

“My aggressiveness came from being around them all the time, because when you play with boys you can either be strong or weak, and if you’re weak, they are not going to give you a game.

“I had to be strong to keep playing, because when I was 13, they would take my ball, and I’d have to sit and watch. But when I was 14 or 15, I was like, ‘I can’t sit and watch anymore,’ which is when I got fitter and stronger physically and mentally. You had to stand out for them to give you a game.”

It was during a match with the boys that she realised football was going to be her sport, despite almost choosing to take track and field more seriously, which was largely because she wasn’t aware of a football programme for women in Jamaica.