Beyond encouraging excellence on the football field, Digicel has stepped up its support for the 2023 schoolboy football season through donation of two $100,000 scholarships to Manning Cup players from non-traditional high schools.

Kingston Technical High’s Nickoy Walters, and Kishawn Valentine from Haile Selassie High, emerged winners of the Digicel scholarships. The money will go a far way toward paying for their tuition and other school expenses.

The boys came out on top of a field of fellow high school footballers who were tasked with writing a compelling essay to Digicel justifying their eligibility for the sponsorship. They were urged by their coaches to enter the competition and write about the significance of balancing sports and academics.

Walters and Valentine expressed their gratitude for the scholarships, knowing that it will fill a big financial gap.

Walters expressed, “It means a lot to me. I needed the help to better my education because things are very expensive, and I can’t afford it right now and I appreciate it a lot. I just want to thank Digicel.” He added, “I am in Sixth Form right now studying Business, and I want to major in Accounts. Digicel is one of the best companies right now, and I appreciate it a lot.”

An equally appreciative Valentine, who looks forward to studying overseas, conveyed the profound impact of the scholarship on his future: “I feel really good. It means a lot and words cannot explain. I want this to help me get a better education overseas.”

Acknowledging the difficulty in choosing recipients due to impressive efforts from all applicants, Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs for Digicel, Elon Parkinson expressed his satisfaction with the selection of Walters and Valentine. He extended well-wishes for their academic pursuits, while emphasising that the scholarship sets up the boys for achieving excellence later in life. Parkinson praised the coaches’ efforts in emphasising the holistic development of the student-athletes.

“Here we have two students from non-traditional high schools who were tasked with writing an award-winning essay to Digicel as to why they deserve this $100,000 sponsorship. These two boys came out on top. We are elated with the efforts from the coaches to rally their boys, which further demonstrates the ISSA Digicel Schoolboy Football competition is not all about talent on the field,” Parkinson concluded.