PROFESSIONAL Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) promises more social responsibility from Jamaica Premier League (JPL) players in the 2022-23 season, it was announced at the official launch of the JPL in Kingston on Thursday evening.

Through a top functionary the organisation says that players will be more active within their communities to ensure they become more positive role models and increase in their social awareness of the communities and sponsors they represent on the field.

PFJL Chief Executive Officer Owen Hill says each player has what he describes as high impact within his community.

“We know that they’re ambassadors, not just for the clubs but for the communities and, by extension, the brands that they represent,” Hill told the Jamaica Observer.

“Programmes will be crafted and curated specifically for them. They’ll be going out into the communities, having these discussions with actual people who want to emulate them — people who actually look up to them in the communities. They’ll have these nice town hall meetings, talks within the communities, going to schools, having a different impact within the communities so that they understand their responsibilities outside of football, also off the field.”

Harbour View FC Head Hoach Ludlow Bernard welcomes this initiative, saying it will force his team, largely made up of young players, to become more responsible.

“Last Saturday night there was a church in the community that reached out to us and, in fact, had a function honouring the exploits of our team,” Bernard told the Observer. “I said to the group at the end of the function that I’ll be looking forward to us engaging the players in some community outreach activities because we know that whenever they gain opportunities to go to foreign clubs, these are some of the things that they will have to do.”

Bernard says social outreach will also build personalities within the team.

“We have an issue with tardiness with a couple of players,” he remarked. “How about some of those boys go into a primary school in Harbour View and saying to the 11- or 12-year-olds that, ‘To be a good footballer you need to exercise good discipline in attendance and punctuality.’ Then and only then will they realise the importance of what I’m trying to say to them day in, and day out. This is something that is very necessary. As a matter of fact, we should also assist them in building their networks because they never know who is watching.”

The JPL kicks off on Sunday, October 23 but Harbour View, the defending champions, face debutants Chapelton Maroons on Monday, October 24.