$20 million to keep going
PFJL CEO put a figure JPL clubs’ sustainability
Published:Sunday | October 16, 2022 | 12:13 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
WITH A benchmark set to move Jamaica Premier League clubs towards self-sustainability, Professional Football Jamaica Limited CEO Owen Hill is looking to new financial opportunities for this season and beyond.
Hill was speaking at Thursday’s launch of the 2022-2023 Jamaica Premier League season, which kicks off seven days from now and the CEO is already looking to surpass the success of last season’s campaign.
Hill, who was appointed CEO last month, is targeting raising the levels of the league, which is in its third season under the new body responsible for marketing local football’s top flight.
The CEO has targeting making the clubs, not just financially viable, but putting them on a sustainable path and already has initiatives geared at helping them to achieve this.
“We definitely know that clubs should be earning upwards of $20 million in profit in order to be sustainable. We want you to understand for the clubs to stay viable, there needs to be a certain level of capitalisation and a certain level of revenue that they earn on an annual basis,” Hill told The Sunday Gleaner.
“So if we give them chances of exposure. If we provide them with spaces where they can exercise their options, then I think they will be better off.”
One of those initiatives is a pilot project called Club Listing, which according to Hill, will provide opportunities for investors to partner with the clubs in different ways. While Hill said that it will involve the stock market, it will also involve other private entities to get involved as well.
“We are preparing these clubs in order to place them in positions where people can invest in real ways. We are not just talking about the stock market, that’s what most people talk about. But there are private placements that can happen. There are individual owners who want to invest. There are different ways but we ultimately want to ensure that the clubs are equipped so that they are able to benefit,” Hill said.
“Club Listing will be a pivotal project, and once that works, more clubs will see the benefit of doing something like this. They will have more financial freedom, and more mustard to do what they want to do.”
Another avenue will be merchandising, which will be offered shortly. Fan gear, Hill explained, will be available online for all 14 clubs this season.
For Hill, it is not necessarily a game changer, but the natural evolution that the league needs to take to reach its financial goals with all the sales going to the clubs.
“I don’t want to amplify it more than what it is. It is just ensuring that we raise the bar so that clubs’ fans, stakeholders, everybody understands that we are trying to build what is considered a viable product. And there is an ecosystem around it and that’s really what we are trying to do,” Hill said.