JPL under lights

GENERAL SECRETARY of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Dalton Wint says construction work on the installation of a brand new lighting system at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence at UWI, Mona Campus is scheduled for completion next month.

Wint told The Gleaner that work is being done at a cost of US$300,000 or J$47 million.

The Jamaica Premier League (JPL), the island’s top football competition, is being played at the venue without spectators in the afternoon under strict COVID-19 protocols.

He said that this will be a massive boost for the country’s football programmes and as well as for the JPL competition because the teams will now be able to train and play night games at the venue once the lights are installed.

“We have started a project and it should be completed in another month because we want to have lights for training and for matches in the evenings and nights,” said Wint.

“It is good for us and it is where we are going because the fact is you can’t have your elite players playing all the while in the sun,” he said.

“You need to give them an opportunity to play in the cool in the evenings or in the nights so that is why we are installing lights there and also for our teams to be able to play in the nights as a revenue earner,” Wint said.

Chairman of the JPL, Christopher Williams, applauded the JFF for the move, saying it will certainly help to increase the competition’s viewership.

GREAT MOVE

“It is a great move and we are excited and looking forward to it,” said Williams.

“This is good for our flexibility and match schedules to facilitate increased broadcast viewership,” he said.

“I think if we are able to play some of the games at night then we are in a better position to drive up our viewership for the benefit of our sponsors,” Williams said.

Harbour View general manager, Clyde Jureidini, mirrored Williams and Wint’s sentiments, saying the JPL season would benefit if television bought into the vision.

“If that can be achieved then it would be good both for the JFF to extend the visibility and scope of activity beyond catering to natural light which goes at 5:30/6 p.m.,” said Jureidini.

“It would mean that games could be played later in the evenings on prime time television,” he said.

“We would have to convince the reluctant Jamaican television and media landscape to partner and to contribute and not to demand payment to see that and help to grow the product and the business aspect of the sport of football,” Jureidini stated.