Football camps young men and women are being viewed as key to the dvelopment of the sport in Jamaica, says a sponsor's representative.

Brand manager of PanCaribbean Bank, Leah Brown, believes that developmental programmes such as the Ballaz Touuch Summmer Camp in particular will reap positive rewards in the future.

"PanCaribbean recognises the importance of honing talent from a young age. This is very evident in the lives of our talented athletes and PanCaribbean is happy to play its part in offering our young persons support through valuable partnerships," Brown said.

Over 100 participants under 16 years of age, 30 of whom have been sponsored by PanCaribbean, were guided through the rudiments of the sport by some of Jamaica's top coaches for the Ballaz 1ST Touch Summer Camp.

The Camp, which started on August 14 and will end today 25 is being staged to help develop football and life skills for youths under the tutelage of Ballaz International.

Since its inception in 2002, the Camp has assisted in launching the football careers of some very talented young men.

Eleven-year-old Dennis Valdez of the American International School of Kingston, along with another 11-year-oldAnelka Green of Central Branch Primary and 13-year-old Rushane Emanuel have been singled out by head coach Andre Virtue for their passion and commitment toward the sport.

"These youngsters have shown a professional approach to the Camp, they absolutely love every moment of the coaching and the life skills sessions that we conduct," said Virtue.

The boys and girls are not only taught the basics and fundamentals of the game of football, but are also exposed to life skills training through Ballaz' Mentorship Programme.