2 months ago
6
IN THE last four seasons, the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) added two teams to include 14 and added another round of games, marking significant expansion.
Although that expansion has placed added financial strain on the Professional Jamaica Football Limited (PFJL), CEO Owen Hill said the positives outweigh the financial difficulties it has had to bear.
“The same thing that is a strength, is also an Achilles heel. The increased number of games require more capital investment, which not all the teams are equipped to deal with.
“So you spend more than you normally spend, and our recovery and regeneration and preparation of those processes became more arduous on some teams, who are accustomed to a shorter league.
“So those were drawbacks. Financially, not all the teams were fully sustainable throughout the expansion of the season. And what it means is our expenses went up, and it resulted in a slight blip with the referees.
“So the reality is payments ballooned and we had to manage those payments according to the relationships that we have,” he said.
However, due to the expansion, more players are seeing more game time and getting more exposure because of increased live televised coverage and the growing popularity of the league around the region.
PROS OF EXPANSION
“Because of the expansion, you got a chance to really give young players an opportunity to play, to test and prove themselves and I think that worked.
“We saw this year a record number of players under the age of 18, that actually played in the Premier League. That was a big plus because the strategy is to get younger players playing at the professional level.
“It feeds into the strategy directly. Previously we would have heard from clubs, agent, scouts, technical directors that they don’t have enough time to do assessments of teams and players.
“With the expansion they got more viewing time. They got more opportunities to look at other players, who wouldn’t have normally been playing and there are now a few (JPL) players on the radar to leave this summer. So that, to me, is a big win for the league,” he said.
Hill also pointed out that there were other positives this season such as the league having greater reach into other markets, increased attendance at matches and a more competitive league.
“Digitally, our footprint became even stronger. Why? We got more games being broadcasted across the world. And more games means a greater chance to promote the league in ways we wouldn’t have done. And the actual reach that we got was tremendous.
“People wanted to see more of Jamaican football. And the number of games allowed for more people turning out. So the turnstiles actually got better.
“We saw about ten per cent increase (in attendance) in the regular round. We did an estimate and the aggregate increase was 10 to 15 per cent to what we saw last year.
“I was happy to see a lot of people wearing the merchandise for the different teams. That was a big positive because it says there is a level of importance and revitalisation in the product and the brand,” he said.
“We want to build a vibrant competitive league. We don’t want a one-sided competition, and we were very pleased because the vision was always to create an extremely competitive environment so the teams could thrive. So we are very happy because it was not a one-sided regular season and a solid enough playoffs.”
English (US) ·