JAMAICA’S national football programme received a lift when it secured a new deal with Italian kit sponsor Kappa yesterday after nearly a year of negotiations and carefully “working out the details”.

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell — five days back on the job after a recent FIFA suspension — was in the Italian city of Turin to ink the US$2-million (J$172-million) deal, which will span three years.

Without a deal with Italy’s largest sports manufacturer since 2010, Burrell was delighted with the new development and said it was timely as the Reggae Boyz commence their World Cup qualifying campaign in a home meeting with Guatemala on June 8.

“It’s a great feeling as we’ve been without a deal since 2010… it comes at a critical point as our boys begin their World Cup campaign and we want to give them the best preparation possible in all areas, and properly equipping your team is part and parcel of that,” he said.

“This will be a tremendous boost to the programme… and will go a far way in enhancing the national football landscape,” Burrell added.

The last deal with the Italian brand was a two-year arrangement valued at US$1.7 million, which ran from 2008 to 2010.

Kappa’s group sports sponsorship manager Paulo Fulgenzi said last evening from the company’s headquarters that the delay in settling on a new partnership with the globally infectious Reggae Boyz brand was strategic.

“It took us one year to make a decision, not because we were not interested, but more because this project is so important to the president who is very hands-on when it comes to the Jamaica project, so we had to take our time in working out the detail.

“The Reggae Boyz brand is very marketable and this is why we have decided to go with it again… we’re staying because it’s a good link with our brand and the story of Jamaica,” Fulgenzi told the Observer.

Kappa, a member of the Marco Boglione-led BasicNet SpA group, has designed and is set to roll out the new and “fashionable” Jamaica line by April.

The new kit will involve jerseys, shorts, socks, caps, sweaters, suits, pullovers and a casual wear collection, which will include polo-styled shirts and jeans. Footwear is optional.

All nine national teams — male and female — will be outfitted by Kappa.

Yesterday, a specific breakdown of the deal was not available, but apart from the bulky equipment portion, US$350,000 (J$30.1 million) has been earmarked as a bonus sum that would be paid over if the team qualifies for the FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil in 2014.

Burrell, who, along with JFF general secretary Horace Reid was instrumental in negotiating the previous deal, said Boglione expressed confidence in his administration and Jamaica and the Reggae Boyz brand.

“He expressed full confidence… and pledged to work closely with us in developing a number of initiatives… they’ve already embarked on an aggressive campaign to market the brand,” he said.

Fulgenzi confirmed that at yesterday’s meeting, the idea of launching a superstore in Jamaica was thrown on the table and embraced by Boglione.

“We’re talking about it (the shop)… there are a lot of things we are planning to do with Jamaica,” he explained.

Kappa’s confidence in Jamaica was eloquently stated back in 2008 at the signing of the last deal when Boglione said Jamaica is a country of “good people with a good image around the world”.

“We still believe in Jamaican football and Jamaican players and we believe Jamaica will be doing well in the next few years,” the Kappa head said back then.

Kappa also outfits Bulgaria’s national teams; Italy’s Roma and Sampdoria and England’s Fullham and Portsmouth. It once covered the Italian national team.

Yesterday’s signing brings more good news to local football as Burrell, in his first press briefing after completing his three-month FIFA sanction, announced on Tuesday three friendly international games for next month.

Jamaica will play neighbours Cuba on February 22 and 24 in Kingston and Montego Bay, before the team departs the following day for a meeting with Oceania’s New Zealand on the 29th.

Burrell, meantime, urged corporate Jamaica to lend more support to football in general, and the national programme in particular.

“I’m very confident that local companies will join hands and help to build the national progamme… already a number of local companies have expressed their desire to work with us and I’m looking forward to that,” he said.