David Shirley (left), managing director, Locker Room Sports, presents chairman of the Premier League Clubs Association, Edward Seaga, with a Nike T90 match soccer ball at yesterday's press conference to officially announce the ball sponsorship deal for the Cash Plus Premier League, at the Hilton Kingston hotel. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
THE OFFER was simply too good to refuse. Those were the words of David Shirley, managing director of gear and equipment suppliers, Locker Room Sports, as the company officially launched its sponsorship deal for the Cash Plus Premier League (CPPL) at a press conference at the Hilton hotel yesterday morning.
"Locker Room Sports is proud to be the official ball sponsor of the 2007-08 Cash Plus Premier League," said Shirley. "It was an opportunity that our company could not refuse. And to be a partner in Jamaica's premier football competition is an honour to us," he said.
Under the terms of sponsorship, besides separate arrangements with gear and other items, Locker Room Sports will provide 720 high-quality match balls - used in some of the world's top leagues - and training balls to all the participating clubs in the league, a move that will reduce a great deal of expenditure as each match ball costs $2,500, plus tax, and the training balls $1,800, plus tax.
"Our commitment to supplying the teams of the CPPL with 240 Nike T90 match balls and 480 Nike training balls will ensure that our local teams have the use of the same quality footballs as used in the Barclays English Premier League, Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga," Shirley said.
New initiatives
The deal is one of several new initiatives attained by the newly-formed Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) - a conglo-merate of teams participating in the national league - to rescue them-selves from suffocating financial burdens each season.
Former Prime Minister, Edward Seage, who is the president of Tivoli Gardens Football Club and chairman of the PLCA spoke of some benefits to be accrued from the partnership.
"We have no reason to believe that the match ball will not live up to its reputation because it is FIFA approved," Seaga said. "That means it has gone through the testing. We have other arrangements with Mr. Shirley in relation to the provision of gear and other items for the footballers, and many of the clubs have started to receive those items and some have indeed received them all. And we are really looking forward to be fully equipped for this season of football," he said.
JFF president, Captain Horace Burrell, said: "I want to thank Locker Room Sports for their bright initiative. I can assure you Mr. Shirley that you will start selling more balls because, usually, small clubs will always want to emulate what transpires at the Premier League and therefore, I assure you that your sales will soar."
Locker Room, the exclusive distributors of the Kelme sports brand in Jamaica, also donated a T90 Nike football and US$300 to Aquel Foneska, also called 'Ras Aldinho', who will represent Jamaica in the Red Bull free style juggling competition in Argentina.
