AS proof of its desire to overhaul the football structure of the country, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), in collaboration with Digicel and Wisynco, yesterday launched the Digicel/JFF Grassroots Programme.

The programme, which will have former national youth player Andre Virtue as national co-ordinator, will cater to children between ages six to 12.

The approach is to have 100 participants per clinic, at least 30 per cent of whom must be girls. The JFF will conduct two clinics per parish each year until 2014 and each clinic will be conducted fortnightly (Saturday and Sunday) and will be administered by each parish association, with the co-ordination of Virtue, and supported by the Social Development Commission (SDC) and INSPORTS.

The Digicel/JFF Grassroots Programme is also expected to target 20 coach-educators per parish, with one per parish to be trained ahead of the clinics.

Coach-educators are those trained specifically to handle six to 12 year-olds in the grassroots style of football development.

Grassroots football is a FIFA-endorsed initiative and the foundation on which the development of the sport is dependent. Its basic philosophy is to facilitate the discovery of football by as many people as possible and is the best means of learning, with the youngsters having fun.

This agenda is expected to reach parents, community leaders, fans, government agencies, which include the SDC and Sports Development Foundation (SDF).

The first phase kicks off on Saturday, May 12 at the Paul Bogle School field in St Thomas, is expected to cost approximately $30 million, and should be completed by December.

A delighted JFF boss Captain Horace Burrell, in announcing the programme, said he hopes it “creates a revolution” in Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Digicel’s marketing director Conor Looney, without giving details of the value of the three-year sponsorship, said the programme is important to his company.

“Digicel understands the value of investing in, and empowering the youth of Jamaica. To that end, we have endorsed several ventures in football that have contributed to a healthy and robust structure at both the local and national levels.

“These programmes include kick-start football clinics across the country, referee training programmes and other coaching clinics — all of which are critical to paving the way for a strong football foundation in Jamaica.”

He added: “Digicel is very passionate about the Grassroots Football Festival because of our strong commitment to the development of ‘the beautiful game’ in Jamaica, and across the Caribbean region.

“In addition to our various football sponsorships and initiatives since we launched in Jamaica 11 years ago, we have been a proud supporter of the Reggae Boyz since 2003, and on February 13 of this year, we further underscored our commitment to the sport with the signing of a three-year contract with the Jamaica Football Federation to support the national teams, including the senior team on their ‘Road to Rio’.”

On the other hand, Francois Chalifour, director of marketing and product development at Wisynco, said the value of their one-year sponsorship is about $1.5 million.

He said it includes cash, products and the execution of the programme. He was also hopeful his company would extend its association with the programme.

Following the kick-off next Saturday, a second clinic will take place at the Barbican beach facility on May 26.

In outlining the structure of the programme, Howard McIntosh, chairman of the JFF Technical and Development Committee, said that Virtue, the founding member of the Next Generation Pro Baller Easter Camp, would employ his youth coaching template while co-ordinating with the various parish associations in organising the clinics and establishing the agendas in the first phase. This will be done for each parish association.

Thereafter, the parish associations would be responsible for extending the clinics within their territories once per month for the duration of the programme.

It is hoped a women’s Grassroots Christmas Festival and a 2013 Summer Festival will emerge, while there is also a plan to have 20 players selected each year for participation in at least one international football festival.

Two Grassroots coaches per parish are expected to be given full scholarships to the JFF/UTech Coaching School, as the programme helps children, build communities and develop the sport of football.