YOUNG basketball players will shoot for success this summer with support from Restaurants of Jamaica (ROJ), under their KFC brand, following a $4.5-million contribution by the quick-service food giant to the Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) Star Search Basketball & Life Skills Camp and the Jumpball Basketball Programme.

Over 400 young male and female players, ages eight to 18, are set to benefit from the donation.

Restaurants of Jamaica’s Brand Manager Andrei Roper explained KFC’s increased support to youth basketball in Jamaica.

“Over the years we have witnessed the tremendous growth and impact of local basketball programmes on our young players, and we remain committed to consistently extending our support. This year we are proud to increase our sponsorship and boost these programmes to achieve greater success.

“We are excited to see our players continue to learn, grow, and excel in the sport, impressing coaches and recruiters who can offer great opportunities. We appreciate the efforts of each programme and our years-long partnership with both. We recognise the importance of these programmes in providing opportunities for our youngsters to further their education and their basketball futures by way of earning scholarships, and so it is even more important to us to help ensure these programmes continue to grow,” he said.

This year KFC has contributed support packages of $2 million in cash and $1 million in meal sponsorship to the JaBA Star Search Basketball & Life Skills Camp, being hosted from July 16-21 at the G C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport in St Catherine. The programme will provide opportunities for over 100 young players to bring their skills in basketball to maturity while also receiving personal development and life skills training. KFC’s cash support will assist with accommodation expenses for players and local and visiting coaches, transportation, training equipment, speaker and presenter incentives, and other costs.

“We welcome the continued support of KFC because we could not host our camp without them. The Star Search Basketball & Life Skills Camp is over 20 years old and KFC has allowed us to sustain the quality of our offerings. Through their partnership we will continue to position our young players for opportunities — scholastic and otherwise. The camp has allowed hundreds of our players to achieve scholarships for university and high schools overseas and we just want to continue doing that. We thank KFC for helping us to create a platform for our top players to showcase their skills,” said JaBA President Paulton Gordon.

Jamaica’s longest-running basketball programme, the Jumpball Basketball Camp, has also benefited from a donation of $500,000 in cash and $1 million in meal support from KFC.

The Kingston leg of the camp takes place from July 10 to 13 at the National Stadium courts. As has been its tradition, the camp then moves on to other parishes including St Catherine, St Ann, Manchester, St Elizabeth and St James from July 21 to August 20. Over 300 young girls and boys ages 8-17 will then get an opportunity to participate in this years-long development programme.

Jumpball Senior Coach Rohan Robinson said: “Words cannot explain how grateful we are for KFC’s support. KFC is not just our partner; they are like family now. They have supported numerous athletic initiatives and we see the value of their efforts. Their donation this year will assist in funding accommodation, transportation, court rental, scholarships, among other things so we are very appreciative.”