ROSE HALL, St James — There will be increased incentives for the 16 teams — eight each from the daCosta Cup and the Manning Cup competitions that will contest this season’s second staging of the ISSA/FLOW Super Cup football competition that will see the winners getting $1 million and a trophy made in Italy and weighing 24lbs.

A $100,000 scholarship for the leading scorer, cash incentives for the teams that finish third and fourth, as well as football boots from the sponsors for every player taking part in the competition, were among the raft of improvements announced at yesterday’s glitzy press launch held at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in Rose Hall, St James.

Carlo Redwood, vice-president of marketing for FLOW, said his company was spending $2.5 million on the competition, an additional $350,000 from last year’s inaugural staging.

“There is no denying the unmistakable unifying power of football and the impact it has in our sports and in our communities all across Jamaica,” Redwood said, adding that the Super Cup will add to the excitement of the schoolboy season.

Dr Walton Small, president of ISSA, called the competition a “step of bold innovation” and said the sport’s governing body “remained committed and supportive” of the initiative as the schools were the main beneficiaries.

The draw for the first round will be held on Thursday, October 22 with the competition kicking off two days later with triple headers in Montego Bay and Kingston. Games will be scheduled for succeeding Saturdays up to the final set for November 14.

The winners of the eight daCosta Cup inter-zone rounds will be pitted against the eight zone winners in the Manning Cup in a knock-out format with games being played at three venues across the island — Sabina Park and National Stadium in Kingston and the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

Redwood said there were thoughts about seeding teams in the first round to avoid top teams meeting early as was the case where eventual champions Jamaica College and Cornwall College met in the first round last year.

While it was regrettable, he said, that two of the top teams met so early, trying to seed teams would also have its drawback.

The winners will walk away with $1 million as they did last year, but there would be more incentives for teams taking part this season.

In addition to the full kits, including football boots this year, each team will get $25,000 for taking part in the first round; teams advancing to the quarter-finals will get an additional $50,000, while the four semi-finalists will each earn another $100,000.

The two finalists will get $200,000 with the winner getting an additional $625,000, which will add up to the million-dollar prize and a brand new trophy.

This year the losing semi-finalists will share $275,000 between them.

Unlike last year when entry was free, Redwood said there would be an entry fee this time around of $500 for grand stand at all venues, the George Headley Stand at Sabina Park included, and $200 for bleachers.