With the increasing popularity and unifying power of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/FLOW Super Cup Knockout competition, various sponsors have joined the party with one goal in mind.

Though the innovative competition which pits the best Manning Cup teams against their daCosta Cup counterparts is beneficial in the marketing of products, some sponsors have pointed to youth development as a more significant factor.

The four-week long ISSA/FLOW Super Cup, now in its third staging, offers schools an opportunity to earn a share of over $2 million in prizes, with the cash incentive being geared towards sports development at the institutions.

Jermaine Brown, sponsorship and events manager at Wisynco — the official hydration sponsor for the teams and the official carbonated drink sponsor for the tournament — believes it was only fitting to throw their brand behind such a positive initiative.

“We have been a sponsor of Manning and daCosta Cup Under-14 and Under-16 and it is only fitting for us to join along with an innovation such as the Super Cup, and through our brands Bigga and Coca-Cola we are here.

“It is an awesome initiative by FLOW, partnering with ISSA, and we are here working together towards building football and advancing the youth. There are a lot of negatives in the society, so it is good to have something positive that is coming through right now in showing the youth how to employ discipline in training and studying and the will to move ahead. So it all spells better and we will be here for the foreseeable future,” Brown told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

Dubbed the “Champions League of schoolboy football”, the heavily marketed spectacle has been hailed as a launching pad towards improving the sport on the local platform.

This has prompted the Restaurants of Jamaica-owned KFC to come on board for the first time to assist in ensuring that the vibrant tournament continues to chart the course.

“The FLOW Super Cup is rightly called the “Champions League of schoolboy football”; it is one of the best innovations to take schoolboy sports in a long time and we are glad to be a part of it. It is a great initiative by FLOW and it provides a great opportunity for KFC to showcase the brand and assist with the development of sports and the development of youngsters,” Andrei Roper, KFC’s brand manager, explained.

Roper added that they will be engaging players and fans as part of their seamless partnership to add to this unique experience and Jamaican excitement. This, he pointed out, will include the KFC Big Deal Moment of the Match, KFC Big Deal Baller of the Week and the KFC golden boot to be awarded to the competition’s top scorer.

“So KFC will have their stamp in the competition and additionally, when fans go to the matches, we will have our promoters there with giveaways and of course people can win tickets to the matches on social media. So we are going to get involved in a big way,” he noted.

The FLOW Super Cup also provides quality surfaces such as Sabina Park and the National Stadium in Kingston and Catherine Hall Sports Complex in St James to facilitate good football in showcasing the best of Jamaica’s young talent.

And Chrysta Walker, marketing and public relations manager of Huawei, said her company’s continued support to garner emerging talent was a no-brainer.

The multinational company recently signed Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi as their global brand ambassador and will be giving away a signed Huawei jersey from the player.

“This is our third year being on board and the one thing that Huawei is into and especially for Jamaica, we see Super Cup as the avenue for youth development and the youngsters love it.

“The stadiums get really full and persons are eager to get tickets from early, so it only makes sense and it is only fair that we come on board again. The youngsters gravitate towards the competition and it gets them pumped up, because when you go into the schools you can feel the energy leading up to the games,” said Walker.