JFF seeking airline sponsor to reduce match day expenses
Published:Saturday | October 12, 2024 | 12:09 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
In an attempt to reduce match day expenditure, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is now seeking an airline sponsor.
The federation spends more than $30 million each match day on overall expenditure and general secretary Dennis Chung said over a half of that is the cost of airfares and getting an airline sponsor would greatly reduce their overall match day spending.
“That (airline sponsor) is being worked on. We actually went to one before but the reason why that one never came through is because the airline was having challenges themselves, internally,” he revealed.
“The average overall cost for airfares each time we play a game is about $18 to $20 million, and overall expenses are approximately $30 million each match day.
“If we were to get an airline sponsor for even half of that, it would be great. And that’s what we are working on.”
He said they have an agent who continues to meet with different airlines and he is of the belief that they are getting closer. However, he noted that the major challenge is finding an airline with a global reach.
“We are looking at another one now and I actually just spoke with the (contact) person looking at it. The guy is overseas. And we are hoping to close something soon.
“But it is not easy to get one (airline) that goes everywhere. So we are working to see if we can get one. We haven’t gotten anything as yet. They had approached one before and they couldn’t do it. So we are working on someone else now. If we get one it would be a big boost for us,” Chung said.
During the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, the JFF had a partnership with American Airlines, where they received discounts and free tickets when the team travelled. However, that relationship came to an end soon after the World Cup.