NEWS that the Red Stripe Premier League title will now be decided by a play-off format is like great music to the ears.

The proposed format is: after the third round (33 games) the eight top teams will play off in two-way quarter-finals, two-way semi-finals, and a one-game final. Fun and excitement guaranteed, hopefully with good football.

The detractors’ argument that the most consistent club should win is sound. However, I say they must prove their quality and consistency at the end, when it matters most. It just so happens that there are four elements to a successful competition: the clubs, the fans, the sponsors and the media. All must be satisfied if there is to be harmony and progress. What we have been having in the Red Stripe Premier League is a concentration on the ambition of the clubs only.

Can you imagine the NBA ending after 82 regular season games without the play-offs? Or after all the violence and crashes in the NFL, there is no Super Bowl?

First and foremost, the fans must be attracted and entertained. Without them the competition is no more than organised training matches between two squads. Local Monday night football (MNF) is a hit because all the four aforementioned elements are in sync. However, the majority of the games on Sunday are like very poor cousins at a Christmas party — scrappy and colourless. Interest for most of these clubs and their few fans nosedive in February once they can’t win the competition and are fairly safe. Only their appearance on MNF keeps them relevant. This should change as there will be more clubs in the hunt and more fans involved.

Secondly, the sponsors must be able to maximise on promotion and sales. Where there are few fans this is impossible. The first half of the competition should now be the foundation to build on a massive push towards the run-in to the play-offs. Nothing better than to end in a crescendo for both fans and sponsors.

We would have to go back over a decade to recall more than 10,000 fans in the stands at any local game. (Arnett Gardens seats less). Those were semi-finals and final games driven by excitement which could only be hosted by the expanse of the National Stadium.

Comparing Jamaica’s league with those in Europe is a joke. They have over 100 years of history to call on, tens of thousands of dedicated and passionate, paying fans, world-class players and coaches, millions from television rights, and sponsors lining up at the club houses begging to come in. Jamaica’s football has none of the above. They play for promotion, to avoid relegation, for Champions League spots, Europa League spots, etc. Thousands celebrate and thousands cry at the end of the season.

Whether we want to believe it or not, our cultural tendencies have shifted dramatically from Europe to the Americas. If you don’t believe me, check your sports channels on TV. Before this proposed change by the Premier League Clubs Association, only four of the top footballing countries in CONCACAF or South America played a straight league format at the top: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Argentina. Notably, Brazil is now loaded with money and football history. And, while Argentina does not have the money, they live and breathe football. Their average game attendance is much larger than Brazil’s.

In this region, Canada, the USA, Mexico, all the top Central American countries and eight South American countries contest a play-off system. Include Australia as well. Theirs, like ours, are all “emerging league”, which have to compete aggressively for the sponsor’s dollars if not for the fans. They have bells and whistles at the end…not only at the launch. Jamaica football should be no different.

However, I would recommend a couple of changes to the proposed format. Instead of having eight teams involved in the play-offs I would have seven. I would then reward the top team on points after the third round with a bye to the semi-finals. This would give them a chance to refresh their players and get ready for the big push for the title. The two-way semi-finals match up would then be drawn for transparency. Let’s get more fans involved and end the competition with a bang, not a “tush”.