It was an easy choice for Restaurants of Jamaica, through its KFC brand, to have sponsored the Jamaica Observer’s coverage of the IAAF World Championships because the brand always aligns itself with matters of national importance.

“KFC’s sponsorship for the World Champs coverage by the Observer was a no-brainer for us. Observer‘s coverage is world-class, very thorough, really keeps the readers connected with all the action that is taking place at an event at the scale of the World Champs,” said KFC Brand Manager Andrei Roper.

“It’s also a no-brainer for us because KFC always aligns itself with events like the World Championships that are of such huge national importance that bring people together, that allow us to cheer on our athletes, allow us to cheer on our nation, and allow us to get behind the black, green and gold,” Roper explained.

“The KFC brand is always aligned with anything that is positive about Jamaica, anything that really represents us as a nation, so World Champs is what we call a big deal event, and an event like the World Champs couldn’t miss the KFC brand,” he reiterated.

“Whether it’s the Olympics, the World Cup or the World Champs, any of those events we know that all eyes are going to be watching, the KFC brand has to be a part of it,” said Roper.

“Usain Bolt or no Usain Bolt, athletes are going there to cheer us up and we know the Observer‘ s coverage is going to be spot on. So, of course, the KFC brand, which is always aligning itself with major events like this, had to be a part of the sponsorship. So we look forward to helping to bring all the information that is going on and updates by the Observer to the Jamaican public,” he added.

Roper, who said he has a special love for the long jump event, believes Jamaica will do very well at the championships because the country selected a good, solid team.

Roper, who had spoken to the Obser ver before the start of the championships, had correctly predicted that the country would have done well in the women’s sprint events, the men’s long jump, the men’s 110-m hurdles, women’s 100-m hurdles, and the men’s discus competition.

“I am looking forward to the women’s 4×400 metres and maybe the women’s 400 metres. Those are just some of the events I believe we can get some silverware,” he said.

“If I am to put a number on it, I would be looking for no less than seven or eight medals from the Jamaica squad. I am looking forward to seeing them represent us well in Doha. It would be great to see a record here or there, but we know that they will put out their best and be great ambassadors for Jamaica, as they always are,” he said.

— Howard Walker