Tivoli Gardens FC hosts treat in west Kingston

Tivoli Gardens FC players brought some Christmas cheer for children in and around the west Kingston community on Wednesday.

Tivoli Gardens are having their best start to a campaign in more than five seasons, and with the feel-good factor spreading through the club, senior defender Barrington Pryce said they wanted to extend that to the kids from Tivoli Gardens and surrounding communities, and he was pleased with the first staging of the event.

“We are winning and that has given us more motivation to do this. But whether we are winning or losing we would do this. It is a good to know that the kids can come around and help bring the communities together. It is Christmas and kids always like Christmas. So we are glad to get together with them,” Pryce said.

Vice captain Odean Pennycooke agreed with Pryce that it is the time of year that children should be happy and they wanted to play their part in bringing some joy to the kids.

“It’s a cheerful time of the year and the youths need to be happy. So we have to give back the youths some of the joy we have been getting from God this season. God has been great to us and we want to give back,” Pennycooke said.

He also credited the work each player has put in and the input of president Dawn Heron in making the event a reality.

TEAM EFFORT

“The president helped organise all this. But apart from the president, the players put in their time and effort and got a lot of sponsorship. I am pleased with how everything turned out,” he added.

Heron commended the players for the initiative and hoped they could make it even bigger next year.

“This is an event where the footballers are giving back to the surrounding communities of the club and I supported them once they wanted to do it because it is a very good gesture at Christmastime.

“Christmas is the time for giving. We hope the children enjoyed themselves and we also hope that next year we will get help to do it bigger and better,” she said.

Tivoli sit third in the Jamaica Premier League table with 18 points, the same as second-place Arnett Gardens and fourth-place Portmore. Leaders Mount Pleasant are on 22 points.

Heron said as the team looks ahead to the New Year they will not get carried away with the performance in the first round.

“We are doing it one game at a time. We are very happy and we are giving thanks, but we are giving thanks one game at a time,” she commented.

Also in attendance were coach Jerome Waite and manager Sylvester Campbell.