Digicel says it has big promotional plans for the Nnational Stadium on September 7, when Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz host the mighty USA in a CONCACAF Group A semi-final World Cup qualifying match-up.

Following Jamaica’s 2-1 win over Guatemala on June 8, Conor Looney, Digicel’s marketing director, told the Jamaica Observer that Digicel has time to plan for the “big showdown”.

“We have a little bit of planning to do as we have a little time until the US game and we always will have something to delight and surprise the Jamaican public,” revealed Looney.

The Digicel executive was pleased with the crowd support for the opening match and he thinks that support will be crucial for the home games.

“Digicel is proud to support the Jamaican football team and it was great to see that the Jamaican people came out in force and created a lot of noise and were definitely the 12th man and spurred the team onto victory against Guatemala,” said Looney.

The Reggae Boyz are on top of the group with four points, the same as USA with Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda with one each.

Jamaica started with a good 2-1 win over Guatemala before playing to a listless 0-0 draw with lesser-fancied Antigua and Barbuda in that country four days later.

“But it was a good start for Jamaica and we are delighted to be associated with the team… it’s great to be associated with a winning team as a business,” he noted.

“As a business Digicel has been a strong supporter of sports generally in Jamaica since we arrived in 2001. Specifically in terms of football, we have been a supporter of Jamaican football since 2004 at all levels, and most recently, we have made a significant commitment by signing a three-year contract with the JFF,” Looney said.

Though it was not officially disclosed, the figure of the life of the sponsorship is rumoured to be approaching $200 million.

The sponsorship will cover expenses for the senior men’s team, Under-23, Under-20, Under-17 and Under-15 teams. It will also entail the staging of local and international training camps and international games ahead of participation in major FIFA and CONCACAF tournaments, as well as planned Digicel roll-out campaigns to drive fan support.

In May, Digicel announced their grassroots programme aimed at unearthing and nurturing football talent throughout the island between the ages of six and 12 years old.

Two clinics will be held per parish each month in each year until 2014, with the first phase set to end in December 2012. Each festival will feature 100 children, who will be under the tutelage of over 20 coaching educators.