Chief executive officer of The Captain's Bakery and Grill, Captain Horace Burrell (front right), shows his company's sponsorship commitment for this season to the St Catherine Football Association. The association's president, Peter Reid (front left), accepts this season's $1.5m contribution, amid members of the 11 participating clubs, during the launch of the parish's Major League at The Captain's Bakery and Grill in Portmore on Thursday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

WITHOUT a sponsor for the last two seasons, the St Catherine Football Association's Major League competition got a major boost through a sweet three-year deal - valued at $4.5m - from The Captain's Bakery and Grill.

Captain Horace Burrell, chief executive officer of The Captain's Bakery and Grill, made the announcement on Thursday at a press launch at its branch in Portmore.

The sponsorship is value for three years, which a total cost of $4.5 million. The St Catherine Major League competition has been with us for the past two years.

Burrell, who is also the president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), said despite the harsh economy climate, his company is committed to helping with the development of football in the country.

sale downturns

"It is really a big challenge for us at The Captain's Bakery because like everyone else, we have experienced downturns in our sales. However, I think we will have to continue our role if we are going to build Jamaica," said Burrell.

"When I was told the St Catherine Football Association did not have a sponsor and the clubs were thinking of withdrawing from the league, I thought that was really unfortunate, hence I decided to pull out all the stops to try and help this association."

Burrell implored the clubs to maintain a high standard of discipline and play.

"I am asking to see improvements all round in the standards of football, both from a disciplinary standpoint and also a technical standpoint," said Burrell, who also noted that his company would be willing to extend its sponsorship arrangement.

That, however, would also be dependent on the level of support his business receives in the community.

"The Captain's Bakery and Grill would be more than happy to extend its sponsorship arrangement beyond this three-year deal and as such, we're asking the clubs and its players to encourage their friends and family to support the business."

Peter Reid, president of the St Catherine Football Association, expressed delight at the sponsorship.

"I am very grateful for this sponsorship because two years ago when our sponsors pulled out on us, we were struggling and I think with this sponsorship, the clubs can now concentrate solely on football," said Reid.

"This also means that we can now plan for three years knowing that we have a major sponsor and we can now put things in place which we could not have done when we had the clubs sponsoring the league," he said.

The competition, the premier football championship in the parish, is set to kick off on Thursday, October 15 at the Prison Oval.

Eleven clubs are down to contest year's competition, with the winners gaining promotion to the South Central Super League, which promotes teams to the all-island Digicel Premier League.

The bottom-two finishers will be demoted to the lower division.

Participating clubs are Flamingo, Portsmouth, De la Vega, DB Basovak, Arlington, Albion, Black Lion, Police, Cumberland, Dunbeholden and Rodwood.