SAN JUAN Jabloteh Sports Club yesterday announced sponsorship deals, all lasting between two and three years, with six corporate groups - National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB), National Enterprises Limited (NEL), Hafeez Karamath Group, Langston Roach Industries, First Citizens and Santa Cruz Food Basket.
This announcement was made by Jabloteh Sports Club chairman Jerry Hospedales during a media conference at the NLCB booth, Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair yesterday.
Hospedales stated that yesterday’s event was “to re-launch and to re- brand (the) Club.”
As a result, the Jabloteh’s Pro League and Under-18 teams will now be known as the Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh, while their jerseys would also have the logos of the Hafeez Karamath Group and First Citizens.
The Club’s Under-14 and Under-16 football teams will now be called the NEL San Juan Jabloteh during the February-August season, while Langston Roach Industries will take care of all the teams’ transportation. The Hafeez Karamath Group will deal with the providing of meals and camps and the Santa Cruz Food Basket is the long-term provider for the Club’s office accommodation in Santa Cruz.
Hospedales said, “the Club is benefitting substantially from the inclusion of experience and expertise from these sponsors. Our governance would be enhanced through their representation on our Board and our Committees.”
The long-standing chairman pointed out, “subsequent to the loss of our major sponsor (CL Financial) in January 2009 and, in the context of the difficulty in bringing together a core group of sponsors to finance our activities, the Club decided to suspend its senior football operations for the 2012-2013 season.
“It was a difficult decision,” he added. “We had begun operations in May 1974 and participated since then in national football including semi-professional football since 1996 and professional football since 1998. At the youth level, we have been organising youth football since 1974 and this programme has continued unabated, providing both the Club and the national teams with quality players.
“We began women’s football in 2006 but suspended operations in 2012,” Hospedales related.
“Our re-launch and re-branding are now being effected through a private-public partnership agreement,” said Hospedales.
“In this framework, the Ministry of Sports is playing a key role as the source of a stable flow of finance. It was the commitment of the Minister of Sport (Anil Roberts) in August which led to our decision to re-join professional football in September.”
Jabloteh have distinguished themselves in both football and netball, and plan to celebrate their 40th anniversary in May.