LIME in Premier League lead?
Published: Monday | June 27, 20110 Comments
Seaga
André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
Telecommunications company LIME is expected to be announced soon as the new sponsors of the National Premier League, taking over from industry rivals Digicel, who recently announced that they were ending their three-year association with the nation's top football league.
Sources close to the negotiating table confirmed that talks between the telecoms company and the league's administrators, the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) are at an advanced stage and that although a few items remained unresolved, an announcement could be made in a matter of days.
In fact, a high-level meeting, which is expected to be attended by executives of LIME and officials of the PLCA is scheduled for this morning and insiders are expecting that the details will be ironed out; heralding the beginning of a partnership which could be valued in the region of $50 million per season.
In an earlier interview with The Gleaner, PLCA chairman Edward Seaga confirmed that a bid was on the table and that an announcement could be made soon.
If completed, this would be a major coup for LIME, which has always been heavily involved in sports sponsorship and development across the island and is also major sponsor of the St Catherine Football Association, with whom they signed a $15 million three-year deal in 2010.
Negotiation stage
"We are negotiating, nothing has been signed off as yet but things seem to be heading in that direction," said the source. "The previous sponsors were paying in the region of $50 million per year so you would expect that this sponsorship will come in at the same level or more."
When contacted, LIME's corporate communications manager, Camille Taylor, could not speak on the matter and offered no comment; however, that will do little to silence the speculations around the ongoing discussions.
Digicel had signed a three-year deal with the Premier League in 2008 but decided not to renew their support and will instead focus their attention on the grassroots development of the sport across the island.
The company reported that it spent over $300 million on the league over the duration of the contract and senior sponsorship manager Shelly-Ann Curran is pleased with the development of the league over the period.
"We are very pleased with the advancement that the Premier League game has made under the managerment of the PLCA, and we're even more pleased with the growth and development of the players - with some of them having gone on to sign contracts with top international clubs," Curran noted. "With the wealth of football talent in Jamaica, and seeing the talent that exists at the youth level, we now want to focus on developing the game at the youth and grassroots level."
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...s/sports3.html
Published: Monday | June 27, 20110 Comments
Seaga
André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
Telecommunications company LIME is expected to be announced soon as the new sponsors of the National Premier League, taking over from industry rivals Digicel, who recently announced that they were ending their three-year association with the nation's top football league.
Sources close to the negotiating table confirmed that talks between the telecoms company and the league's administrators, the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) are at an advanced stage and that although a few items remained unresolved, an announcement could be made in a matter of days.
In fact, a high-level meeting, which is expected to be attended by executives of LIME and officials of the PLCA is scheduled for this morning and insiders are expecting that the details will be ironed out; heralding the beginning of a partnership which could be valued in the region of $50 million per season.
In an earlier interview with The Gleaner, PLCA chairman Edward Seaga confirmed that a bid was on the table and that an announcement could be made soon.
If completed, this would be a major coup for LIME, which has always been heavily involved in sports sponsorship and development across the island and is also major sponsor of the St Catherine Football Association, with whom they signed a $15 million three-year deal in 2010.
Negotiation stage
"We are negotiating, nothing has been signed off as yet but things seem to be heading in that direction," said the source. "The previous sponsors were paying in the region of $50 million per year so you would expect that this sponsorship will come in at the same level or more."
When contacted, LIME's corporate communications manager, Camille Taylor, could not speak on the matter and offered no comment; however, that will do little to silence the speculations around the ongoing discussions.
Digicel had signed a three-year deal with the Premier League in 2008 but decided not to renew their support and will instead focus their attention on the grassroots development of the sport across the island.
The company reported that it spent over $300 million on the league over the duration of the contract and senior sponsorship manager Shelly-Ann Curran is pleased with the development of the league over the period.
"We are very pleased with the advancement that the Premier League game has made under the managerment of the PLCA, and we're even more pleased with the growth and development of the players - with some of them having gone on to sign contracts with top international clubs," Curran noted. "With the wealth of football talent in Jamaica, and seeing the talent that exists at the youth level, we now want to focus on developing the game at the youth and grassroots level."
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...s/sports3.html
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