Organisers of the Jamaica’s Elite Men’s Netball League say lack of sponsorship has forced the cancellation of this year’s tournament, but they remain hopeful the competition will get underway next February.

The competition was scheduled to start last month, but according to chief organiser of the tournament Shawn Murdock, plans were scuppered because the main sponsor pulled out of the tournament.

“We had some challenges with the start of the league in November due to the fact that the major funder had a change of heart in terms of supporting us with sponsorship,” said Murdock.

“I think that once that fell through, it kind of set us back because that is where the main sponsorship would have come from for us. That would have covered team gear, some of the cost for venue rentals and some of the officiating cost,” he said.

“However, we have already begun discussions with some sponsors and we are hoping to start in February,” Murdock said.

He said plans are afoot to rebrand the organisation as well and its leagues to ensure they do not clash with with Netball Jamaica’s divisional league competitions.

“We are going to rebrand our league because we want to ensure that we are not rivalling the Netball Jamaica leagues in terms of the names and so we are looking at rebranding to ensure that there is clear division between the two leagues,” said Murdock, the head coach of Jamaica’s national men’s team.

“We are hoping to launch this in January and this will be massive and will be looking to engage our sponsors and supporters at that time,” he added.

“This male league is extremely competitive because it is a mixture of the best players from the different clubs in Jamaica. It is unpredictable and that is an addition of excitement because we don’t know how the championship will go,” Murdock noted.

He stated that the league is scheduled to run for two months and will consist of four teams. Matches are set to be staged at the Leila Robinson Courts.

“For a league like this we are looking in the region of two million dollars for two months. We would like for the people who are interested in sponsoring the sport of netball, we would love for your support,” Murdock said. “I know that the cry is the same for the ladies, but the sport can only happen with sponsorship,” he said.