The success of some events heavily depends on the outpouring of support by sponsors and the recently concluded high-quality third staging of the ISSA/FLOW Super Cup competition is testament to that school of thought.

The electrifying competition culminated in spectacular fashion with urban area standout Wolmer’s Boys’ School reigning supreme after clipping rural kingpins Cornwall College 1-0 in the final at Sabina Park last Saturday.

Just over 50 goals were scored across the four weeks of intense battles in the “Champions League of Schoolboy Football”, with the on-the-ground activities by the numerous sponsors adding flavour to the on-field excitement.

While expressing gratitude for the overwhelming support by the sponsors, Carlo Redwood, FLOW’s vice-president of marketing and television, sent out an open invitation to corporate Jamaica to continue to spur the growth of the product.

“We believe in corporate support for the development of football and this competition is at the pinnacle of it and we always are looking to bring more sponsors on board, so we are encouraging more sponsors to come on board,” Redwood told the Jamaica Observer.

“We are very happy with Wisynco coming on board through Coca-Cola and Bigga; Scotiabank, KFC and Locker-Room Sports coming on board, but we are looking for more sponsors so we can give more back to the schools. So it is not just about a tournament, it is a tournament that helps give back to the schools, and certainly we want to give back more as the competition gets bigger,” he added.

Despite the title remaining with a Manning Cup team for a third consecutive year, Redwood believes the major improvement displayed by the daCosta Cup teams in coming to the fore this year augurs well for the high level of competitiveness to come next year.

In the same breath, he added that FLOW will be aiming to improve the product to maintain the high quality, even more so after the vision of the competition came to fruition with what was an explosive finale.

“(We are) very excited about where we are in the competition going into the fourth year. I think it sets up certainly for next year is that Manning Cup (teams) have to again prove themselves as the dominant area of the country, because even though they won the title they were outplayed at the top of the competition.

“On the other hand, the daCosta cup teams we expect will be looking to maintain that dominance into next year and by extension win their first title.

“So we expect it to be even bigger and even better, in terms of the competitive nature of the competition, in terms of the type of rivalries that are being created now and that will be key around the passion and excitement that it brings to the game. So we are excited about what is going to happen next year,” Redwood reiterated.

The FLOW marketing executive says it is a clear goal to grow the tournament with each passing year.

“There are always areas to improve on and we try to strive to improve every year, because every year the execution internationally improves as well. So we will continue to try and research other competitions to try and create a better experience for the players and the patrons and we will always be looking to be innovative for our customers. So it is a continuing process to deliver the best quality and experience,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Jermaine Brown, sponsorship and events manager of Wisynco, said his firm’s sponsorship of the Super Cup is a manifestation of its commitment to the football community and youth development.

“The Super Cup is a very positive step in the right direction and ISSA and FLOW have orchestrated a top-notch competition and our brands have really hugged up schoolboy football in a way that it will continue to build, and Jamaica can be proud.

“Wisynco is here and we had an awesome time with the sponsorship’s awesome value for our brand. It looks good for next year, it looks good for us reviving football and ensuring that we build the foundation so that we will have a stronger footballing community,” Brown noted.

Yanique Forbes-Patrick, CEO of Investment at first-time sponsors Scotiabank, explained that her company’s sponsorship of the Super Cup is aligned with an even bigger vision of youth development.

The bank provided two $50,000 bursaries for the Golden Boot winner Jourdaine Fletcher of Cornwall College and MVP Shemar Jemison of Wolmer’s Boys?

“We are very pleased to get involved with sports at the youth level because of the significance of sports to child development. FLOW is a great partner and we are happy that we were able to give bursaries to some of the students and we are going to be going into the schools to do some financial literacy courses to really teach these guys how to budget and what the principles of investing are.

“So as I said, it is a really perfect fit for us in terms of what we do and where our focus is in terms of giving back. So we are pleased and looking forward to bigger and better things next year,” Forbes-Patrick said.

Another first-time sponsor, KFC, provided the coveted Golden Boot and brand manager Andrei Roper said the tournament was a “big deal” for their products.

“Every weekend was exciting and it was great to be a part of it from the KFC brand standpoint (and) it is really the ‘Champions League of Schoolboy Football’ and it was indeed a big deal.

“It was a good opportunity for us to showcase the brand a bit more, but more than that it was amazing to be a part of something that is still groundbreaking and continues to improve year after year (and) it plays a big part in youth development and it has been really rewarding,” said Roper.