Claro pumps $51M into INSPORTS Community Football Championships

The Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) has received $51 million from telecommunications company Claro, under a three- year sponsorship deal, to support INSPORTS All-Island Community Football Championships, starting this year.
Administrative Director of INSPORTS, Ian Andrews, told Thursday’s (November 18) press launch, at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, Kingston that the competition aims to heighten the involvement of community members who have not had the opportunity to participate in organised competition.
Media Manager for Claro, Latoy Williams, said that sport was an excellent outlet for youths and helps to inculcate values such as integrity, honesty, hard work and teamwork. She urged the participants to pay close attention and garner as much as they can, as she challenged them to make a difference in their communities.

Senior Accountant at the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), Andrew Wright (left), presents INSPORTS Officer for St. James and Hanover, Terry Reid (centre), and INSPORTS Officer for Westmoreland, Cleon Tomlinson, with one of the jerseys to be used in the Claro/INSPORTS All-Island Community Football Competition, which was officially launched Thursday (November 18) at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.

Several organisations are partnering with INSPORTS in the initiative, including the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL), the Inner city Action Forum, Dispute Resolution Foundation, the National Youth Service (NYS), the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), and consumer brands -Vo5(Smith Russell & Company Limited), Ariel and Oral B.
Regional Director for the NCDA’s eastern region, Oneil Smith, said the Council decided to get involved in the programme, as sports is a good way of diverting youth from drugs, and the competition would help the NCDA to reach more persons.
“Youths who are involved in sports rarely get involved in substance use. What we have also found out is that persons involved in sports can be just as happy, because the sporting activity releases the endorphins that give you that euphoric feeling and it makes you just as happy as persons who are using substance,” he explained.
Last year 10,075 youth participated in the competition, while about 50,000 were positively affected, indirectly. This year it is targeting 12,000 unattached players across the country.
The competition kicks off with a parish phase, with 32 teams placed in eight groups of four from which the top 16 will enter the knockout round of 16. Only the winners will advance, until a parish winner is decided. Parish winners automatically qualify for the national phase, where only winners will advance to successive rounds. The last two remaining teams will play in a final at the National Stadium for the INSPORTS trophy and prize money.

Commercial Director for Claro, Adriana Arzate Rios (second from right), presents Administrative Director for the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), Ian Andrews, with a sponsorship cheque during the official launch of the Claro/INSPORTS All-Island Community Football Competition, Thursday (November 18), at the Terra Nova All-Suite hotel, Kingston. Looking on are (left-right) – Senior Accountant at INSPORTS, Andrew Wright; Media Manager for Claro, Latoy Williams; and model Emma Subratie.

The national winner will receive a cash prize of $500,000; second place will receive $150,000; third place $100,000; and the fourth place and all parish winners will receive $50,000.
The defending champion, Claremont from Hanover, will host the 2010/11 official kick-off at Watson Taylor Park on November 28, 2010.