Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
Clyde Jureidini ... I think we are moving closer to what professional football is and that's what we want to do. - File
HAD the format been the same as last year, Portmore United would already have won the National Premier League and Reno and August Town would have been demoted.
With a healthy eight-point lead over their only threat in the top six, Tivoli Gardens, it should only be a matter of time before the Portmore club - on 67 points - seals the championship.
But for the very same new format that is based on the Scottish Premier League, the bottom duo is undoubtedly thankful as a fourth round with five additional matches among the bottom six clubs has given them a lifeline to remain in a revolutionised setting that has turned out to be far more lucrative, yet somewhat unstable as the clubs have taken greater control over their own affairs.
All the clubs have received more money through sponsorship attained by their own member-organisation - the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA).
The PLCA worked up $58 million in sponsorship from Cash Plus, Coca-Cola, Digicel, National Commercial Bank (NCB) Foundation and the Radio Jamaica Group (RJR) this season. Last season the JFF got $22m from long-time title sponsors Wray and Nephew, of which the 12 clubs got $7m to share.
Of the $58m the PLCA got this season, $7.5m went to referees' fees, $3.3m in PLCA office administrative expenses and $1.3m covered insurance for the players. A total of $37m was shared among the 12 clubs. And the last $8m acquired from NCB Foundation will cover prize monies and a presentation and awards ceremony that, for a while, was off the cards.
That situation arose because the acquired 2007-08 title sponsor Cash Plus Limited, simply put, is gone after providing $24.5m of the $61m it had promised for the season in a deal that should have netted $150m over three years
Jobless
As often happens in the game, coaches come and go though the most recent to be tagged to that list - Harbour View's Lenworth Hyde Sr and St George's Donovan Duckie - were a bit surprising, leaving both the champion coach last season and one of the most impressive, Duckie, with newcomers St Georges from traditionally weak eastern confederation, jobless as the league winds down.
In this moment, staying alive is the name of the game and enhances focus on the big W - win.
"The new format definitely gives us a chance of maintaining our place in the league next season, and the more football the clubs play the better it is," said Kenneth Wilson, president of August Town Fooball Club, which is tied at 34 on the floor with Reno.
He added: "Sunday will tell. Everybody knows that we have to beat Reno at home. I'm confident that we can do it."
Reno's technical director, Wendell Downswell, said: "I don't have a problem with the format, it's extremely competitive."
Competitve drop zone
Downswell, the many-time national coach who has also led the traditional premiership giants from Westmoreland to three titles, added: "The drop zone is also competitve. It won't be an easy task, it's challenging, but we're keeping our fingers crossed. We're hoping that we can rise above the adversity that we are faced with."
Another three-time champ, Arnett Gardens, are battling to avoid the drop.
"Under the regular format we would have been secure," noted Jerome Waite, who took over as coach of the 'Junglists' at the end of the second round.
He added: "This new format has put us in the position to play additional games and it can become a setback.
"Up until now the best format is at the end of the third round we play semi-finals and finals, the supporters really enjoy it that way.
"But we're pretty much confident of the team and staying in the league," said Waite.
They have 36 points with four matches remaining and they, too, are feeling the heat in a bottom six pressure zone where only Village United, on 42, might now be considered safe as Seba (38) and St. Georges (39) are less than two wins from August Town and Reno.
Commenting on the new format, Harbour View's general manager Clyde Jureidini, a director of the PLCA which instituted the change, noted it has improved the levels of interest and competitiveness.
Lot of interest left
"I think from the response I've seen and heard, there's a lot more interest. The bottom six teams all have to continue playing at the highest level ," he said. "That's tremendous.
"There's a lot of interest left in the league and clubs are highly motivated to finish as best as they can ... now you have mini-finals in every game, these are high-pressure games that will appeal to fans," he said. "It brings us to the stark reality that the real value is playing throughout a league and playing as best as you can right through to the end.
"That's what the major leagues in the world do, the value of participation is playing in the league. I think we are moving closer to what professional football is and that's what we want to do," surmised Jureidini.
"We're encouraging fans and sponsors to continue supporting club football and that's the way to go."
