Please! Deal with this problem of bad football surfaces
ANYONE who has ever been involved in the organisation of sporting activities can testify to the tremendous value of sponsorship.
Of course, potential sponsors are attracted by the success and perceived public popularity of the particular activity.
In that respect, the extraordinary success of school sports, particularly athletics and football, has been a major ‘pull’ factor for private sector companies seeking to enhance brand value.
Once again, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) deserves commendation for the success of its programmes and the capacity to attract private sector support.
In the latest case, ISSA’s schoolboy football programme has received increased support for the ISSA/FLOW Super Cup football competition which was inaugurated last year under the then LIME brand.
Mr Carlo Redwood, vice-president of marketing for FLOW, has been reported as saying that his company is spending $2.5 million on the competition, an additional $350,000 from last year. Of course, telecoms giant FLOW is also sponsorsing the traditional school football competitions, the Manning Cup for schools in the Corporate Area inclusive of Kingston and the more urban sections of St Andrew and St Catherine, and the rural-based daCosta Cup.
Mr Redwood identifies the “unmistakable unifying power of football and the impact it has in our sports and in our communities all across Jamaica”, to explain the FLOW Super Cup, which, he says, will add to the excitement of the schoolboy season.
Zone winners in the daCosta Cup and Manning Cup, numbering 16 schools, will participate in the knockout FLOW Super Cup, which begins on October 24. As was the case last year, the cash prizes are significant — ranging from $1 million for the winning team to $25,000 for those who are halted at the first round.
We note that the games will be played at just three venues — Sabina Park and National Stadium in Kingston, and Montego Bay Sports Complex.
No doubt, that’s largely because of the desire to ensure good surfaces to facilitate good football.
As this newspaper has often said in this space, good football becomes well nigh impossible on bad surfaces. Unfortunately, much of the football being played in Jamaica is on terrible surfaces which, in addition to making the game unattractive to watch, pose real and present danger to the health of the players.
This newspaper has said it many times before. We make the point yet again. All stakeholders, including the Jamaica Football Federation, the Ministry of Sport, and other relevant government entities, ISSA, individual clubs, and schools, as well as football sponsors, including FLOW, must make a concerted effort to deal with this problem of bad surfaces.
Irrigation for football fields, wherever that’s affordable and feasible, is obviously one answer. It seems to us that thought should also be given to the use of artificial surfaces — though we recognise that initial cost is a major hindrance. And is it not possible to consult plant and soil experts regarding drought-resistant grass for some of our worst fields in areas where irrigation is just not feasible?
We believe that where there is a will, there is a way.
