JFF announces new partnership with marketing firm C11
Published:Tuesday | July 30, 2024 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has announced a partnership with C11 Marketing, a United States-based company that will focus on reaping the benefits of the local brand internationally.
JFF general secretary Dennis Chung told an online press conference that the federation is on a mission to raise funds, and that it is their intention to use Jamaica’s lustre and international appeal in order to get the value that they want out of the brand.
As a result, the federation signed an agreement with C11, which will take them at least into the Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027 and both parties have very high expectations of what the partnership can achieve.
“It is a big world that we live in and C11 does have the marketing experience that we require. This will bring to the JFF brand recognition and we believe there is a lot more to be gained from the brand,” he said.
He said that for too long they have talked about the popularity of the Reggae Boyz brand but have not done all they can to exploit it.
“But with what we are doing with 876 Stream, with C11 and BTS (Business To Sports) we believe we can take the brand a lot of places where people are talking about it.
“So in terms of recognition for the JFF and for Jamaican football, we are going to see a lot of that and we are also ensuring that we get the funding from this to supplement the football development.
“We want to take the football to greater heights and we are expanding the brand and getting all we can from it.”
Jonathan Cantwell, CEO and owner of C11, said they are thankful for the opportunity to support Jamaican football through their expertise in marketing and commercial abilities.
“We have served our brand partners across North America and abroad for over 20 years with our expertise across marketing and sponsorship services
“We proudly serve as the agency for top football organisation, clubs, brands and FAs, in which we look to leverage our best in class with our marketing expertise and experience, as well as our deep-rooted knowledge of the US market to grow the JFF brand.
“We are eager to build platforms together to rally the Jamaican diaspora and develop Jamaican football,” he stated.
He also explained that though there is no actual term limit to the deal, the partnership will take them into the Women’s World Cup.
“We believe the next few months will allow unique opportunities to leverage the brand with commercial and strategic partners in the US and around the globe.
“With regard to the extent of the deal, we do not have a set period but it obviously has ties to the international football calendar in regard to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and all our strategies will be built towards those two main competitions. “
JFF president Michael Ricketts said the intention is to continue diversifying the marketing operations of the federation.
“It is a pleasure for me to be a part of the exercise to concretise the agreement with C11. The JFF wants to diversify our marketing operations and we would have had 876 stream on board to deal with the local aspect of our marketing drive.
“So we engaged C11 because we thought we should be getting far more exposure globally and these gentlemen will in fact help us in this regard.
“They will be targeting Europe, North America and other countries I am sure, so that we can engage some overseas partners. And we are very excited by the prospects,” Ricketts said.