Owen Hill, chief executive officer of Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL), has revealed that next season’s jerseys for the Wray & Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League (JPL) will be designed locally in partnership with sportswear brand Admiral.
The JPL displayed the jerseys yesterday on their social media platforms ahead of the launch of the 2024-25 season.
Hill said the yet-to-be-released jerseys celebrate the unique culture and story behind all the clubs in the JPL and will be promoted under the tag line, ‘For Jamaicans, by Jamaicans’.
The jerseys, he confirmed, have been designed by local artist Dwayne Jureidini.
“The entire promotional campaign is centred around the Jamaican culture and scenery, so the design is from one of the top designers, Dwayne Jureidini,” he said. “You will see fantastic culture and the storyline for each community and club within the jerseys themselves. So essentially, we’re promoting Jamaica through the skills and culture of the Jamaican people.”
Jureidini said it was an honour to be included in the project and is looking forward to see his designs take to the field.
He explained he was approached by sportswear brand Admiral to take on the challenge after they were impressed by some of his previous work.
“I’m very proud that Admiral took the initiative to do this because it is the first something like this is being done in Jamaica. They were adamant from day one that this project should be executed 100 per cent by Jamaicans, so I have big respect for that as well. They are a big global brand and they could have brought in anyone from overseas.”
Hill said the project signifies a closer relationship between the JPL and Admiral for the future.
Admiral were also the suppliers for last season’s jerseys. However, Hill said this season’s initiative is one the JPL had been eyeing for some time.
The partnership will also include various promotional campaigns including teasers and releases to further nurture a growing business relationship.
“For this season, we’ve definitely signed on to them fully. It is a partnership we have been courting for quite some time, so if you notice last year we had the same set-up but this year we’re going a little bit more in depth.
“You’ll see releases and teasers and different marketing activations that will help promote the partnership that we have with them,” he added.
Hill explained that the JPL jerseys will be distributed to various outlets in Jamaica to be made available for purchase for fans. These plans also include distributing the jerseys to the various clubs as well as pop-up shops at events. He added an online shopping option will also be made available for fans overseas.
“That is the push the we want to move into; assisting and enabling and facilitating commercial endeavours for the clubs,” he said. “You will find that there will be pop-up shops, there will be outlets that we are able to sell the merchandise from and the clubs will have them on hand.
“You’ll have the option to purchase if you’re in the diaspora or in any region that is connected to Jamaica and want to be a part of our landscapes,” Hill said.
Gregory Bryce