Action in the Under-13 competition began last Saturday at the National Water Commission football field in Mona, but heavy rains caused the festivities to end early and be put off until this Saturday. The Under-15 competition is set to kick off today at 12:30pm at the same venue with 4 games being played at once.
Both the Under-13 and Under-15 competitions will have unlimited substitutions for all the matches. The winners of each competition will receive $25,000, the runners-up will take home $20, 000, third will get $15,000 while the fourth place team will pocket $10,000. Jamaica Beverages and Western Sports are associate sponsors.
The Insurance Company of the West Indies (ICWI) has pumped $1 million into this month’s staging of the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Under-13 and Under-15 competitions.
Samantha Samuda, vice-president of marketing at ICWI, handed the sponsorship cheque to the newly elected KSAFA president, Stewart Stephenson, during a press launch, which was held at the company’s head office in New Kingston last week.
“ICWI has been a strong supporter since its inception of early childhood education and development. This falls right in line with our mandate for ICWI group foundation,” said Samuda.
Samuda added: “We have seen success out of the KSAFA programmes with individuals who have received scholarships to international universities and have returned to Jamaica as success stories and are now giving back to their communities.
Stephenson said his administration is very grateful for the sponsorship because the competition will provide the youngsters with an opportunity to showcase their talents over the next three weeks.
“We are very delighted,” said Stephenson. “I think, for me, it is not just the money, but the quality of the sponsors because ICWI is a major corporate company in Jamaica and it’s an endorsement to our leadership and the talent that we bring to the game. There are others to come and we are going to roll them out as each competition comes along,” he said.