TUCKER, St James

THE management of Red Stripe Premier League champions Montego Bay United (MBU) is calling on the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) to bring more equity when the schedule for Monday Night live television games is being arranged.

Sandra Christie, the club’s CEO and director of planning and administration, said the club had raised some questions about the opening game set for the first weekend of September.

It was announced that Montego Bay United would face Rivoli United in the opening game, but Christie, who took over the running of the club after former president Orville Powell stepped down in June, said this was a departure from the norm.

“It has been the tradition for the champions to open against a promoted team,” she told the Jamaica Observer West recently. “We have not been given anything official yet, but we also heard we would get the first Monday Night game, as well.”

Given that Reno FC of Westmoreland will return to the competition this year and would be the 12th-placed team, Christie said scheduling the opening game between the two western clubs would make good marketing sense.

The vast majority of the live games on a Monday night have been played in Kingston, she pointed out, and one of the reasons given was the “logistical difficulty” to move the equipment across the country.

Given she said that it was also hard that Montego Bay United to get the first Monday night game, then the opening game against Reno at the Montego Bay Sports Complex sounded ideal.

“Given all the negatives the PLCA has had, this would be a great start to the season,” Christie reasoned. She also said every club in the competition should get equal shares of the Monday night games.

“If you have 12 clubs in the league, all must be treated equally, all must get Monday night games,” the MBU boss reasoned. “All 12 Premier League clubs must be treated equally and the budget for TV coverage must be split equally between all 12 clubs. The excuse of logistical difficulty to move is not good enough.” She asked whether Reno would also be able to host a game in Montego Bay.