Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

[Karl]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>PAUL A REID, Observer Writer
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>MONTEGO BAY - Western Jamaica's four Wray &amp; Nephew National Premier League (NPL) clubs are planning on protesting Cable &amp; Wireless' $65 million sponsorship deal with four corporate area clubs.<P class=StoryText align=justify>A delegation from the teams is expected to protest infront of the Cable &amp; Wireless offices in Kingston tomorrow to register their concerns with what they think is the unequal manner in which the sponsorship deal was done.

It is also understood that there are plans to boycott Cable &amp; Wireless' bmobile cellular telephone product, at least for the duration of the season, as a mark of protest.

Cable &amp; Wireless announced a $65m sponsorship package last week for four clubs - defending champions Waterhouse, along with former winners Arnett Gardens, Boys' Town and Portmore United.

The sponsorship will see the four clubs sharing $13 million in cash each year, with C&amp;W committing a further $8.6 million annually on marketing and community support.

The western clubs - Seba United and Wadadah of St James, Reno of Westmoreland and Village United of Trelawny - are asking for a more level playing field. The spokesman for the group, Orville Powell of Seba United, told the Observer yesterday that the deal made the playing field uneven.<P class=StoryText align=justify>"Selecting four teams and none from western Jamaica is making the playing field very uneven and seriously difficult as far as the western teams are concerned," he said.

The teams have met once before on Friday and had planned on meeting again last night to iron out the details of the protest, which is expected to happen tomorrow.

All the NPL clubs were involved in the initial negotiations with Cable &amp; Wireless that started last year, Powell said, "but somewhere or the other there was a breakdown and then we heard they decided to give the four teams".

Powell added: "My grouse is that since people in the west use the product and represent a large percentage of the market share, they are obligated to invest in western Jamaica as well."

He further said that Cable &amp; Wireless "can't wait for Montego Bay to become a big ghetto for them to start putting money here".

The Seba executive said while all the manufacturers and large companies did well in western Jamaica in terms of making a profit, not enough of them were ploughing back money into the community. "All of this money that Cable &amp; Wireless is giving back to the community is what they got from us in the first place."<P class=StoryText align=justify>To make matters worse, he said calls to the head office were not returned.

Powell confirmed the teams planned on taking a delegation to Kingston tomorrow. "We want to show them we have a large part of the market share and we will press home our point by stop using the product and let them see that we matter as well."<P class=StoryText align=justify>He told the Observer he had gotten a lot of support from a number of other NPL clubs outside of the western area, and based on calls he has been getting, cellular users in the region had planned on supporting their protest.

[Karl]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

Small markets have their own set of problems!

[Mosiah]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

This does not look good, on many angles. Not saying they should not protest, but you hate to see it come to this.

I guess we need to know the nature of the breakdown, why it is that things did not happen for the other clubs.

[Karl]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

Serious questions come into play - Is this the start of an era where any entity which advertise and or sponsor any of our clubs will be put under severe pressure in the marketplace by other football clubs that were not sponsored?

Is this step good for our football? Will sponsors either curtail imvolvement with clubs...or withdraw from sponsorship of clubs?

Ifa sponsor decides to sponsor say, one team in a particular competition should the other clubs hold sit-ins and boycotts?

Are the clubs using strong arm tactics as theyattempt to dictate to corporate sponsors where best to spend their advertising dollars?

Can poorly run entities insist thatresponsible managers spend company money - advertsing/public relations dollars - 'foolishly'?

What position must a well run FA and or JFF take on this matter?

Will C&amp;W cave in and give away their funds...

...or is this an opportunity for 'outside' interest totake over and control the Western Clubs? An OK I will pour funds into your coffers if on your say, 5 man board you give us 3 of the 5 directors? ...and, it must be our appointee that holds the managerial position of CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and COO (Chief Operations Officer).

Is it at last coming to pass that inadvertently the poor club managershaveopened the door for professionalism toenter our NPL Club organisations?Should C&amp;W let Jamaica know that which can be demanded - control of the clubs - for their money? That is, pressure the clubs to either back off or accept sponsorship with serious strings attached...and or let their members know why i) the 'owners' are 'selling' the club or ii) not allowing the club to grow in a businesslike manner beneficial to the stakeholders?

[Mosiah]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

Those are my concerns. It smacks of the "welfare mentality" where people want stuff just because, having not put out any effort to deserve such rewards.

Again, we need to know the details of why the talks broke down between the other clubs and C&amp;W. I am sure Courtney knows (he hinted at it earlier) but he might not be in a position to divulge such info. And that is understood.

[Assasin]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

My a go watch the hyprocrite them this morning.



After unnu gwaan like unnu want run mi offa the board friday when mi talk.



See it deh. Story come to bump now.



Again if 5 clubs in the league can get 5 or 6 sponsors and the rest can't get none something is very wrong.



The NPL have to step up and show some leadership and I assume that is the JFF. They have to lead the way and show these clubs how they can write their own proposals and provide guidance or Jamaica football will never be better.

[Mosiah]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

Can't see how you could be ready to pat yourself on the back. It is possible that when the full story is aired that the Western clubs could look sillier than ever!

[Lazie]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

Sillier? Ummmm! The teams that benefit all come from where? The others do have a point. C&amp;W do have customers throughout the island, suh why not pump some of the profits to other clubs too?

Nothing gonna come out of it. The C&amp;W PR team gonna come wid some statement that everybody gonna buy.

[Mosiah]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

All the clubs were in negotiations, Lazie. Why are you so quick to put whatever spin on it without knowing the details? Yes, I agree, it don't look good. Not only are the four teams from the Kingston-Portmore area, but they are all in PNP-strong constituencies. (Let's just say it and move on.) But it's not as if C&amp;W had handpicked these 4clubs to do bizniz from the get-go.

Yuh coming to the picnic?

[Assasin]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

The fact is you like many others miss the point.



The inequity is the problem. It doesn't matter how silly the teams look, there is still a huge problem where every year the same teams can annonce different sponsors and some teams don't have one.



It is either the league negociate or allow the clubs to negociate and provide them with some assistance and know how. This is the right time for the league to step in and say, you have to improve and we will show you how, and how you can achieve these sponsorship but it will be business as usually.



Nobody look at the underline problems, do research, and then see what the progressive clubs, or companies do and spread the info. Without that there will be no better Ja, we just continue to see what some people have and others remain in the hole.

[Lazie]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

Lazie not spinning anything. I've already pointed out that the 4 teams aligned to a certain party from Friday.

Yes, I'm going to the picnic.

[OJ]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

I think some here missed the ramification of this. Someone here in the know had clarified the issue stating it was more than the four involved initial and it then came down to four. While I have no reason to doubt that from a marketing perspective its not a good thing for Cable and Wireless as it brings negative publicity for those constitiuents in the west. What I wouldl have like to see more than a protest is seba reno village and Wadadah doing a deal with a competitor and see how the shortsightedness of boxhill and co. would deal with this. I think some of us here Karl and Mosiah should be more objective and stop gwan like assasin a idiot . He saw though it and what the fallout would be and you dont have to go to Cornwall to see that. I am surprise Schatta is so quiet on this.

[Karl]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

The JFF has always done that pointing of the clubs in the right direction. It is the 'owners' of the clubs who will not allow sensible business persons to come on baord as they have expressed the view that they will lose control and ownership!

The thinking is obvious - continue with being the top man in a 'dolly house' operation rather than becoming a player in a thriving business.

[Lazie]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

... and Village is a dollyhouse operation? Sickko sent an article about the financial problems. Village didn't seem to be running a back a wall operation, I guess because dem is a country team .. unuh naah guh see that.

This deal had nothing to do with equality nor business ... it is clear what this was all about.

Unuh all can fool unuhselves.

[Karl]

RE: Western clubs plan protest action on Cable & Wireless' Kingston office

assasin (8/8/2006)The fact is you like many others miss the point.

The inequity is the problem. It doesn't matter how silly the teams look, there is still a huge problem where every year the same teams can annonce different sponsors and some teams don't have one.

It is either the league negociate or allow the clubs to negociate and provide them with some assistance and know how. This is the right time for the league to step in and say, you have to improve and we will show you how, and how you can achieve these sponsorship but it will be business as usually.

Nobody look at the underline problems, do research, and then see what the progressive clubs, or companies do and spread the info. Without that there will be no better Ja, we just continue to see what some people have and others remain in the hole.

So you are saying we are agreed that- the clubs are poorly managed...as those managers cannot use commonsenseto go out and find out what the 'successful' clubs are doing right and to ape and or modify to suit themselves?

...and, the management is so silly that it cannot hire someone...and or interest a past club member and or past town resident and or past nearest past high school acquaitance and orcurrent college and or university studentwith the necessary knowledge to assist in turning things around?

If as you are telling us by your position the leaders at those clubs are so stupid...Yes, let me say it out loud - STUPID thenall the years of the JFF pointing those leaders in the right direction brings us full circle to what we know have - silly club leadership talking ofboycotting C&amp;W? ...and, ignoring working at making their clubs successful and thus attractive to corporate sponsors.

The solution, if I am to believe you that the current managers are fools, is to get rid of the whole sorry lot!