DIGICEL SPONSORS JFF REFEREES HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM

The Jamaica Football Federation, thanks to a $1.2 million sponsorship deal from Digicel, is delighted to announce a joint venture programme with the mobile operator, aimed at the recruitment of referees.

According to the Chairman of the JFF Referee Committee, Peter Prendergast “The Digicel Referees High School Program is geared towards capturing the interest of our young people, by exposing them to another facet of the beautiful game, that of match officiating and will be the first of it’s kind in the region”.

The program is scheduled to commence on Monday May 4, 2009, and will last for eight weeks ending on Saturday June 20, 2009. Two hundred male and female students between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, from approximately twenty schools across the island will participate in this exciting, innovative program. They will be drawn from the four Confederations, Eastern 30, South Central 50, Western 50, and KSAFA 70.

The program will consist of theoretical and practical sessions, divided into two segments, one day per week after school on the school grounds for two hours and on Saturdays at the training facility determined by the parish organizers.

Certified instructors will conduct the courses, and trainees will sit the referee examination to achieve certification. Program Director, FIFA Referee Instructor and Chairman of the JFF Referees Committee, Peter Prendergast says, “The Jamaica Football Federation is proud to be involved in this important endeavor. The unearthing of new talents in the field of match officiating is essential to the growth of football, the program is a stepping stone in a bid to improve the standard of refereeing in Jamaica, and provide a continuous supply of competent world class referees”.

Digicel’s Sports Sponsorship Manager, Paula Pinnock-MacLeod stated that “as sponsors of the JFF Referees, Digicel is delighted to be onboard and pleased to support a program that will not only provide an avenue for the development of football but will also provide an alternative opportunity for so many High School Students to get involved with the sport, the programme also prepares these youngsters to develop leadership and disciplinary skills, Digicel is happy to endorse this programme.”.

Once the students have successfully completed the program they will be injected into the Referee body and will be used to officiate in matches at the Prep and High School Level.