DIGICEL JOINS SOCCER FEVA INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

Digicel, the biggest sponsors of Caribbean football, have announced their title sponsorship of ‘Soccer Feva.’ The Soccer Feva series is an annual friendly international match between two rival Caribbean countries that have strong roots in the South Florida community. This year, the Digicel Soccer Feva will take place on Saturday, May 23 at Fort Lauderdale’s Lockhart Stadium between rivals, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz and Haiti’s Les Grenadiers.

The game will boast an array of internationally renowned players, including Ricardo ‘Bibi’ Gardner (Bolton Wanderers), Marlon King (Middleborough), Jermaine Johnson (Sheffield Wednesday), Claude Davis (Crystal Palace) and Jean Jacques-Pierre (FC Nantes).  "We expect a massive turnout because the people of Haiti will be celebrating a special holiday period," said JFF boss, Horace Burrell. Burrell also assured that "we will have all our available overseas-based players".

Digicel, Jamaica’s fastest growing mobile network, has a strong presence in the region. The popular credit transfer system, ‘Digicel Top Up’, allows users to transfer credit from the UK, USA, Cayman Islands and Canada to Digicel customers in the Caribbean and South America. “We know that there are many Caribbean nationals in Florida and throughout the US who are loyal Digicel supporters.” explained Digicel’s Sports Sponsorship Manager, Paula Pinnock McLeod. “We make it easy for them to buy credit and top up other family members and friends in the Caribbean.”

The mobile network will also be launching its Prepaid Calling card shortly. The card will be sold in the USA and Canada in $2 denominations and will allow customers to scratch the back and reveal a pin number, which will be used to call international numbers. 

The addition of Digicel as title sponsor and Jamaica National as lead sponsor has further enhanced the event as one that the Jamaican Diaspora will truly enjoy. Both companies have expressed their enthusiasm and optimism that this will be one of the most exciting events for the Jamaica Diaspora living in Florida, and will provide them with a unique opportunity to celebrate their roots, culture and sports.

“Digicel is happy to help Jamaicans who are away from home to feel closer to home”, continued McLeod. “We’re pleased to be on board with the Digicel Soccer Feva, as we believe that sports play an integral role in the region and football in particular provides an excellent opportunity for so many. As sponsors of both the Jamaican and Haitian National Teams, we are looking forward to a great event and the opportunity to engage the diaspora in Florida.”

Haiti and Jamaica first played each other in 1925 and their last meeting, according to eloratings.net, was on October 1, 2006, where the Boyz were 2-0 winners at the National Stadium in a Digicel Caribbean Cup qualifier.

Jamaica’s last friendly international was played on February 11 in London where they tied with Nigeria's Super Eagles. They will also be playing Panama on June 7, both games providing a chance for Coach John Barnes to finalize his squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which runs from July 3-26 in 13 US cities.