After signing a deal with British sportswear brand Admiral Sports, Professional Football Jamaica (PFJ) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Owen Hill says the clubs in the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL) need to be more forward-thinking in improving jersey sales.

PFJ and Admiral agreed a partnership in July to become the official kit sponsors for the 14-team league and unveiled the newly designed jerseys at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay.

While the financial details of the partnership have not been disclosed, the Jamaica Observer has learned that the clubs received an unprecedented quantity of kits for their players, as well as replica kits for sale to the public. It’s also understood that the clubs are expected to keep 100 per cent of the revenue made on each jersey sold.

Historically, replica kit sales for the JPL haven’t fared well but Hill says clubs must now be proactive so they can generate more income.

“The clubs are to be properly staffed, understanding the bigger vision, knowing this is a part of their revenue so that they’ll be pushing it,” he told the Observer. “We will also enhance that by promoting it on league-wide channels and having pop-ups and putting them in retail stores, purchasing online and so forth, so the click through becomes much easier.

“However, we constantly impress on the clubs that they are also to be pushing and be the primary vehicle by which fans and supporters get the gear. With enough stock, we should be consistently running out, if I must say so, because people are selling and we’re expecting to do that from minute one.”

Another issue with JPL kits in the past is many teams didn’t have the players’ names on the back of the jerseys, unlike other professional football leagues worldwide. Last season, the Observer noted that only three clubs — champions Cavalier FC, runners-up Mount Pleasant Football Academy, and Harbour View FC included player names on their kits.

Hill says while it isn’t mandatory for clubs to do so, it should be an important feature to have.

“It’s one that requires the competitions side of the organisation to create that mandatory clause but we consistently impress it on the clubs. Our role is to commercialise and we show them how commercially viable the club or player becomes when you create these simple but effective strategies in promotion,” he said.

“What we’ve also done in the design of the kit, wherever sponsor logos are placed based on entitlements, there’s always that spot available so if they want to create names onto the shirt, that’s always available because we ensure that becomes a standard that they put in place and get ready.”

Hill says the partnership with Admiral is further proof that the league is heading in the right direction.

“The arrangement is massive because it gives us another professional element to the toolkit because the kit is a major part of how you market and promote,” he said. “There’s a standardisation of the actual brand, there’s support from Admiral in marketing and promotions, the actual kit quality has improved and the design is representative of the clubs themselves and gives them an opportunity to sell more merchandise.

“It’s a win-win. The look and feel are fantastic, the actual design, the implementation is local and the clubs benefit significantly from that professional element.”

The JPL is set to kick off on September 15 with an additional 13 league games for each club, compared to 26 in the past two seasons. The winner of the league will once again be decided through the play-off format.