Manning, daCosta Cup goals to help feed younger students

The Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) launched the much-anticipated 2018 schoolboy football season with a major announcement from its long-time sponsor, Restaurants of Jamaica (ROJ) and their brand KFC, who are back on board as major sponsors for this upcoming season.

Through its Add Hope Foundation, ROJ will donate J$500 for every goal scored in the first round of the Manning and daCosta Cup competitions, to feed needy children at the basic and primary-school levels.

Earlier this year, KFC and the Add Hope Foundation partnered with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and the Ministry of Health to donate J$4.5 million to the Jamaica’s national school-feeding programme.

This newest initiative with ISSA is expected to up the ante for the players, as they were encouraged to “score big” this season.

“We are always looking for ways to support Jamaica’s youth. We want every team playing across Jamaica to know that every game is important and with their help, we will make every goal scored in round one a ‘big deal’,” said Andrei Roper, brand manager of ROJ. “In addition to playing for their schools, schoolboy footballers can feel a sense of pride in knowing that they are also playing to help feed needy students across Jamaica.”

Last year, the Manning Cup league ended with 784 goals in the first round, while the daCosta Cup had 1,228 goals. Similar or higher numbers would bode well for beneficiaries of the Add Hope initiative.

The 2018 schoolboy football season will begin on September 8 with more than 130 teams taking part across both competitions.