Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, Captain of Jamaica’s women’s national football team, the ‘Reggae Girlz’, and forward for Manchester City, only continues to rise.
Shaw’s goal in the 48th minute of the Manchester Derby on Saturday 23 March elevated the Jamaican forward to become City’s all-time top goal scorer.
Her jaw dropping tally of 68 goals in just 82 games meant that Shaw surpassed previous record holder Georgia Stanway’s 67 across 186 appearances with City from 2015 to 2022.
Advancing with City
In Shaw’s debut season with the club, City’s number 21 bagged 19 goals in 29 games.
”…spectacular achievement”
Her rise continued into the following season, scoring an incredible 31 times across all competitions in only 30 matches. This spectacular achievement earned Shaw a spot on the PSA WSL Team of the Year in 2023.
Currently, Shaw firmly tops the Women’s Super League table for the top goal scorers this season. With a mega 19 goals so far, she dominates the table, sitting a full six above the next player down, Lauren James for Chelsea.
December 2023 saw Bunny Shaw clinch the spot as the first player in Women’s Super League History to total three hat-tricks within one calendar year.
Jamaica’s Reggae Girls
On the international scale, as Captain of the Reggae Girlz, Shaw is Jamaica’s all-time top goal scorer across both the women’s and men’s teams, boasting a massive 55 goals in 42 caps for her country.
Pre-captaincy, the Jamaican forward played on the squad for the national team that qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. This performance was historic with Jamaica becoming the first Caribbean nation ever to qualify for a Women’s World Cup.
Once she was named captain, Shaw led Jamaica to the Round of 16 at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, marking the first time any Jamaican national team, either men’s or women’s, would advance into a World Cup knockout stage.
Honours and Awards
”…the nation’s first female footballer to be honoured with a National Award.”
Recognition of Bunny Shaw’s success, both nationally and internationally, has earned her a growing collection of individual awards.
She was named Guardian Footballer of the Year in 2018, awarded CONCACAF Player of the Year in 2022, and honoured with Manchester City Player of the Season in 2022-23, to name but a few titles held by the City forward.
In 2020, Shaw made history in Jamaica when she became the nation’s first female footballer to be honoured with a National Award.
The then 23-year-old was awarded for outstanding achievement in women’s football with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD), a prestigious national order in the Jamaican honours system.
This incredible achievement followed her captaincy over the Reggae Girlz’s best season in history in 2019, marking a successful campaign that led to their inaugural participation in the Women’s World Cup.
What’s next for Jamaica’s Bunny Shaw
Looking ahead to the end of the WSL season, where the Jamaican forward will battle for City to win the title race against Chelsea, Shaw sits amongst the favourite candidates in the running for upcoming top awards.
The City player has been shortlisted for Football Player of the Year at the Women’s Football Awards 2024, and is currently one of the top contenders for the upcoming Ballon d’Or Féminin.
As Bunny Shaw’s success in women’s football just keeps rising, the Jamaican Captain and Manchester City forward continues to prove herself as an absolute force to be reckoned with.