THE Jamaica Independent Schools’ Association (JISA) says it is desperately in need of support in running the respective prep school competitions.

The Alberga Cup and Henriques Cup Under-12 football competitions, as well as the Under-12 netball competition, have been in action since October, however only one sponsor has come on board to fund all three competitions.

Though satisfied with the little they have, JISA Sports Coordinator Winston Keyes told the Jamaica Observer that more is needed.

“This year has not been good for us. Of course we are giving thanks to Canopy Insurance Limited who came on board and assisted us in the best way that they can but we still need help from other persons or potential sponsors,” he said.

With JISA being a privately run association it means the Government isn’t obliged to fund any of their activities, but Keyes says they may consider approaching them in the near future.

“[We have] not [reached out] in recent times in terms of the ministry; we have done [so] prior but we weren’t successful. I guess that is something our team would have to look into to see where else we can get other sponsors but as a private institution it’s very hard for us and the administrators for private institutions in sports to get sponsorship because the Government will usually assist if they can, or if they want to, but most times they’re not assisting private institutions,” explained Keyes.

Additionally, Keyes is not only seeking financial assistance but is also encouraging parents and guardians of the participating children to attend the matches in large numbers, as they would for more senior competitions.

“Parents are coming out but they’re not coming out in the force that we would see for a Manning or daCosta Cup game. When you look at last year and prior years, once it reaches the semi-finals we always have a number of parents who will come to the game so it [the support] can’t be too much at this stage because we want parents to be participating by cheering on their children and not to [instead] be involved and cursing any referees or administrator on what is happening,” he said.

The football and netball competitions are at the knockout stages and are scheduled to be completed before mid-December.