PROFESSIONAL Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) says that Jamaica Premier League (JPL) clubs being made to do more merchandising this season is in keeping with a move to make them more aware of their responsibility to be self-sufficient.

At the official JPL launch on Thursday evening it was announced that club gear and other merchandise will go on sale this season via a website and select locations across the island. PFJL Chief Executive Officer Owen Hill describes this move as part of a strategic decision.

“I inherited this project from the excellent effort of the chairman, Chris Williams, and the directors,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “They would’ve already harnessed a lot of the information, and we’re looking to partner with these clubs who want to take the next step. A lot of the clubs have directors, et cetera, who are very clear about what they want for their clubs.”

While the sale of club merchandise will be pushed by PFJL, it is the clubs which will see the revenue from each sale.

“The clubs will earn, ultimately, from every sale,” Hill said. “Whatever it costs, we’ll want to cover the cost of the gear but the additional proceeds will go to the clubs. So, every single club will benefit from the sale of their merchandise. It also helps to give the club a sense of responsibility — you will be pushing the merchandise in order to get more revenue in your coffers.

“I don’t know the revenue split right now but I can tell you that all the monies go to the clubs. The PFJL is just an operational arm and we help to manage this process, but all the monies go to the clubs.”

Three clubs, which were not named during the media event, will also undertake a pilot project for investment but Hill says that this is not limited to just clubs being placed on the stock market as public holdings.

“We’re talking about different opportunities,” he said. “It may just be a private placement, it may just be a stock market listing — it depends on how you look at it — but there are different ways to offer equity in your club in order to get capital.

“The club listing project is really a pilot project that we’re looking to push to ensure that the clubs become self-sustainable, as well as to become internationally marketable.”

While investment means more interest from corporate entities, clubs’ stocks being put on sale publicly also means fans could have a chance to own a stake in their clubs. This means that clubs would then be held to direct account by those fans who have invested money.

How such fans voice their opinions in other places around the world is through supporters trusts who hold yearly general meetings to get a better understanding of club affairs, voice concerns and, in many cases, vote on personnel appointments in the club at the technical and executive levels.

Such a system is not commonplace in Jamaican football, however, but Hill likes the idea and says it could become a reality.

“That’s not actually activated as yet but I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “We are in the incubation stage with the clubs in a lot of instances so these are opportunities for the clubs to actually step out and do more. So, we’ll create opportunities for fan groups and sponsors, for everybody to get a chance to have discussions with the clubs, the directors, the players, so that they understand what it is that the stakeholders want from them,” he said.

Chapelton Maroons and Faulkland FC being promoted to the JPL means it moves to 14 teams and more games for the 2022-23 season. The league has moved past the limitations caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic over the last two years and every team will now be able to host matches at home this season, even if some will not have the opportunity for televised games. It means the league will now be played in its normal structure for the first time since before the pandemic, with a preliminary stage then the subsequent knockout rounds.

Hill explained, “We continue with two rounds — just an extended league because of more teams — with a break in the season around the World Cup period [between November and December], but we continue to play football throughout that period. You’ll hear more about that very soon. We have an extended season and you go into the play-off round, and the excitement heightens once that happens.”

The JPL officially kicks off on Sunday, October 23 with last season’s runners-up Dunbeholden being hosted by Humble Lion at 5:00 pm. However, Arnett Gardens face rivals Waterhouse in the Boom El Clasico at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Monday, Heroes’ Day, at 6:45 pm. This game follows the Bell/Ziadie Memorial Football Festival, an event which will see St George’s College Old Boys facing Christian Ambassadors at 3:30 pm, after which the Masters & Celebrities will play an Entertainers Invitational team at 5 pm.