THE Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) yesterday received one of the largest sponsorship packages in its history when the Best Dressed Chicken announced a $20.6-million deal to back the world number four-ranked Sunshine Girls for the next four years.

The deal, announced at the Jamaica Broilers Group headquarters at McCook’s Pen in St Catherine, will include $18.6 million in cash and an additional $2 million in products to help the national team meet its in-camp protein requirements.

The sponsorship package will cover this year’s World Netball Championships in Singapore from July 3-10 and the lead-up to the next WNC in Australia in 2015.

JNA president, Marva Bernard, told the Observer that the funds will, among other things, help to cover future preparation test series against foreign opponents, who have changed their stance as it regards paying their own way to travel to Jamaica for series.

“We have a schedule of how we would like to go. We will now have to be supporting ourselves when teams come here and when we go overseas. I guess the better we get is the less sponsorship from our competitors we are going to get,” Bernard said.

The Sunshine Girls leave their camp in Kingston for Montego Bay on Sunday from where they will fly to Singapore via London.

The Best Dressed Chicken, as part of their show of support, will organise a road show which will allow Jamaicans to wish the Girls well along their journey to the airport in the second city.

The activities will begin at Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree at 8:30 on Sunday morning with an hour-long praise and worship session.

The bus will make a rolling stop in Ewarton, St Catherine, the home of defender Malysha Kelly. It will then make a 30-minute stop in Priory, St Ann for a short concert before continuing on to Montego Bay where the senior players will depart at approximately 6:00 pm.

Bernard added that she was pleased that the Jamaican public would get a chance to greet the senior national players.

“We wanted to showcase the girls to the country, but we just didn’t see how we could do it both with finances and with time resources. Now, Jamaican people will get a chance to see the Sunshine Girls that they have grown to love,” she said.

“I am overwhelmed. I am joyful and grateful to Best Dressed Chicken,” Bernard added.

Best Dressed Chicken sales and marketing manager, Oliver Mair, told the Observer that the deal was the largest single sponsorship in the company’s history and was a testament to their faith in the netballers.

“The synergy has just been very good for both brands (and) we saw an opportunity to give back. The Sunshine Girls ranked between three and four in the world is a huge achievement and it needs private sector support (and) we though this was the right thing.”

The national team finished third at the last WNC in Auckland, Zealand in 2007. They open their 2011 campaign with a match against South Africa on Monday, July 3.