Telecoms provider Digicel is involved in negotiations to sponsor the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) football competitions, the Jamaica Observer has been reliably informed.

With the 2018 schoolboy football season just weeks away, a senior executive at Digicel confirmed that the negotiations are at a delicate stage, and as such nothing more could be said at this point.

Efforts to get a comment from ISSA’s hierarchy proved futile as phone calls made to President Dr Walton Small and vice-president Keith Wellington went unanswered.

Yesterday, telecoms company Flow, in a statement, announced that its five-year title sponsorship deal has ended and thanked everyone for their overwhelming support throughout. Flow took over as title sponsor of schoolboy football from Digicel in 2013 in a reported $150-million deal.

“Our partnership with ISSA for the schoolboy football programme, including the Flow Super Cup, came to a contractual end in December 2017,” the statement said.

“We are very proud to have contributed to revolutionising the competition, which now boasts an enviable standard for football competitions throughout the Caribbean region,” it added.

Flow, previously LIME, was title sponsor of the Manning Cup, daCosta Cup, Ben Francis Cup, Walker Cup and Olivier Shield competitions. The company introduced the cash-rich Super Cup which tantalisingly pitted rural area schools against their urban rivals.

At the end of last season, Flow had expressed confidence that ISSA would have extended the contract, citing the fruitful nature of the partnership.

However, the statement yesterday confirmed recent speculation that a contract extension is off the table.

“In 2012, Flow Jamaica signed a historic five-year title sponsorship deal with the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) valued at J$150 million for the prestigious schoolboy football competition. Further, in 2013, we created and executed the game-changing Flow Super Cup competition that allowed us to contribute in a greater way to the participating schools,” said Flow.

“With a mission of bringing back the glory days to the well-loved competition, the company embarked on a dynamic journey that extended beyond the conventional parameters of a commercial sponsorship. Through our consistent involvement in the organising process with ISSA over the period, we were able to contribute to the development of the schoolboy football programme and, by extension, local football, in a very tangible way,” said the statement.

“The successes of our collaborative efforts include an improved standard of execution, heightened fan engagement and an intensified focus on the commercial viability of the league.

“We wish to thank ISSA, the schools, and all football fans for the overwhelming support throughout our five-year tenure as title sponsors. Flow Jamaica continues to support the development of sports in Jamaica,” the statement concluded.