TELECOMS company Claro provided a $13 million-boost towards the staging of the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship to be held in western Jamaica from February 14-27.

But even while lauding Claro and Wisynco — two of the major sponsors of the tournament — for their significant investment in the youth tournament, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell made a plea to Government and corporate Jamaica for more sponsorship to close the gap on the $30 million shortfall.

“It takes cash to care. These partnerships will go a far way in underwriting the costs of staging the championship,” Captain Burrell said while providing greetings at the press launch at the Terra Nova All-suite Hotel on Tuesday night.

“We’re in need of much more funds,” he said. “The shortfall now stands at $30 million. I guarantee that this money will be an investment with tremendous returns in the short, medium and long terms,” he added.

The top 12 teams from the CONCACAF region will converge on Jamaica over the next couple of weeks vying for four places to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Mexico later this year.

The last time western Jamaica hosted the tournament, Jamaica qualified for the 1999 World Cup Finals held in New Zealand, and the JFF is hoping lightning strikes twice in the same place.

In his continued plea for support, Burrell said the hosting of the event in the west holds tremendous opportunities for the country.

He spoke of direct business to tourism and the economy; claimed direct spend will exceed $100 million; the utilisation of 500 hotel rooms, over 3,000 hotel beds, plus benefits to the transport sector, construction industry, media/advertising, food, security and entertainment industries.

As hosts, the JFF has responsibility for accommodation and ground transportation for all teams, as well as media publicity, events staff, ticketing, training facilities for the tournament. The Observer did not ascertain the full cost of hosting the championship.

The teams will be housed in Montego Bay at Holiday Inn (Barbados, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Guatemala and Jamaica), and Iberostar (Haiti, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Panama and USA).

The main sponsors were upbeat about the event.

“It is with great pleasure that Claro announces its partnership with the Jamaica Football Federation in sponsoring the Under-17 CONCACAF World Cup Qualification Tournament, valuing J$13m,” said Latoy Williams, media manager at Claro.

“Let this be yet another milestone on our continued journey with the JFF and we wish our Under-17 Reggae Boys all the best on their journey to Mexico,” she added.

Wisynco’s Managing director William Mahfood did not reveal the total value of his company’s sponsorship, but the Observer understands it will provide all water and isotonic drinks (powerade) for players, as well as Coca-Cola for VIP refreshment.

Sport Minister Olivia Grange applauded Claro for investing in Jamaica’s youth and the donation to the tournament.

She expressed confidence Jamaica would be one of the top teams at the tournament to be hosted at the Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny and Catherine Hall in St James next month.

According to Grange, the youngsters were likely to be presented with financial opportunities resulting from their performance. She urged them to consider contributing to sports development programmes when they become professionals.

The Ministry, through the Sports Development Foundation (SDF), provided financial support for the recent six-week camp in Brazil.

It is also working with the Local Organising Committee for Jamaica 2011, chaired by Montego Bay Mayor Charles Sinclair, to ensure the success of the tournament.

The JFF used the occasion to unveil the tournament Mascot and present the Under-17 Reggae Boyz theme song titled Nah Goh Si We Fail, produced by G3 Musik Productions and performed by Dominic ‘Kronik’ Brooks.

Jamaica will play in Group C which includes Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala.