DIGICEL DIALS IN!
Signs $200-million, 3-year presenting sponsor deal with PFJL; Sportsmax has broadcast agreement
HERALDED as a major development in professional football, Digicel has been named presenting sponsor of the redesigned Jamaica Premier League, through sponsorship of approximately $200 million over the next three seasons.
Digicel has teamed up with the newly formed Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) — the body that will run the Premier League going forward — to announce that the competition will now be titled, ‘The Jamaica Premier League - powered by Digicel’.
Shortly after announcing this game-changing development, chief marketing officer for Digicel Jamaica, NashaMonique Douglas, commented that the sponsorship is another strong signal of the digital operator’s support for national development through sports.
She expounded, “The national sport in Jamaica is football, and it has significance in how we manage social development as a nation. Digicel can’t be a part of the country’s future without investing in properties that change people’s lives and football hits every single community across the island.”
As to the primary rationale behind the sponsorship, Douglas believes giving back is essential. “It’s a twoparter; it’s clearly business as sporting content is king at a time when people are glued to their devices, but it’s also about playing a key role in our nation and our youth’s development, as Digicel continues to be a part of Jamaica’s tapestry,” she added.
At the centre of this significant sponsorship that sets the stage for local football at a higher level is a broadcast agreement with Sportsmax. Through the new deal, Sportsmax will deliver vast exposure to the league through live and delayed broadcasts, expert analyses and the best coverage via subscriber and free-to-air TV, or the Sportsmax app on smartphones, tablets.
For Sportsmax CEO, Olly Mcintosh, the renewed partnership is a continuation of their broadcast partnership with the Premier League – a relationship that dates back to the 2015/16 season.
“The Jamaica Premier League represents the upper level of football in Concacaf and is the foundation for the players that will form the team and that will hopefully go to the World Cup in 2022. For us at Sportsmax, the league will sit in a very good broadcast neighbourhood on Sportsmax, alongside the Spanish La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. The unrivalled production and broadcast will increase as we showcase the Premier League to viewers, globally, on cable and digital platforms for the next three seasons.”
Digicel now joins JMMB, Wisynco, Yummy Bakery, Jamaica Producers, Indies Pharma and Mount Pleasant Academy as sponsors.
In the meantime, Professional Football Jamaica Limited is awaiting the go-ahead from the Government of Jamaica for the 2021 season.
PFJL Chairman Chris Williams assures all Jamaicans that while negotiations are still under way with a number of other sponsors in the league and club categories, the organisers are fully in sight of their targets.
“Digicel has ensured we will have a Merry Christmas and we look forward to a Happy New Year when we make the final sponsorship announcements in early January,” he said.