Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) President Mark Bennett is pleased with what he considers a significant sponsorship from J Wray & Nephew. This has also brought him optimism for this season’s competitions.

“This season promises to be both exciting and highly competitive,” Bennett said, “with teams vying for the largest first-place cash prizes in the history of our Championship League and Major League competitions.”

The winner of this season’s Championship League (formerly known as the Super League) gets $1 million while the Major League’s champion takes $600,000.

Bennett said he is confident that these prizes will serve as a good incentive for teams to give their best on the field, especially as they will also be competing in the Jamaica Football Federation Tier Two competition next season.

“The sponsorship from J Wray & Nephew, spanning three years, adds another layer of excitement to the season,” Bennett said.

Bennett says that the sponsor had requested that the finer terms of the sponsorship be kept confidential but said, “It is very substantial for a sponsorship at this level and one that will allow us to offer a very competitive competition for all over the next three years.”

Bennett says that the KSAFA competitions are important to the development of football in Jamaica.

“The KSAFA teams represent the largest block in the Jamaica Premier League and clubs at the higher level will always look to pull players from our competitions to boost their squads.”

Boys’ Town enters the season as defending champions in the Championship League where they will be joined by Jamaica Defence Force, who was promoted after winning the Major League last season.

The season, which started two weeks ago, features 12 teams competing in the Championship League and 13 in the Major League, and runs until May.