The civil unrest which has crippled sections of the island since Sunday has forced a number of sporting events to be postponed, including the Jamaica Netball Association’s (JNA) fundraising concert.

The JNA’s concert dubbed ‘Sunshine Evening’, which was scheduled for the Assembly Hall of the University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday, will now be staged some time next month.

The funds from the concert will be used to send Jamaica’s senior Sunshine Girls to World Netball Championships in Singapore next year.

President of the JNA Marva Bernard sees the postponement as an opportunity to regroup.

“We were rushing at the last moment to get everything ready, so this gives us more time to prepare,” Bernard told Sporting World.

The fundraiser will be the third such event by the JNA. The first was held in 2006 and facilitated the purchase of video analysis software, while the second event in 2008 contributed to the national Under-21 team’s participation at the World Youth Championships in the Cook Islands.

Bernard indicated that the association did not suffer any losses, as they were able to notify the people involved in time.

“We will be consulting with the diaries of the headline acts such as Etana and Tami Chin to see if they will be available for when we decide to hold the event,” she said, noting that she hopes more tickets will be sold in the lead up to the concert next month.

Meanwhile, the JNA boss said plans are afoot to provide counselling for players and their family members, who live in the areas affected by the civil unrest.

Bernard added that the fundraising committee would be reserving tickets for members of the affected communities.

“We will be doing our best to help in any way we can. In the midst of all of this stress, we want them to relax and enjoy themselves, even for a little while,” Bernard said.

The JNA is hoping to raised $9 million to send the Sunshine Girls to Singapore next year.