For the first time in close to a decade Montego Bay will host the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) elimination matches, and the Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Owen Hill and the city’s Mayor Richard Vernon believe it will prove beneficial in years to come.

Following the completion of Monday’s quarter-final play-offs at Sabina Park in Kingston, the action shifts to the west on Thursday as the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St James hosts two semi-final first-leg matches.

League leaders Mount Pleasant Football Academy are to play either hometown favourites Montego Bay United (MBU) or Tivoli Gardens FC while Arnett Gardens FC will face either defending champions Cavalier FC or Portmore United.

The last time a JPL play-off match was played in the country’s second city was in May 2017 when MBU lost 2-1 to Arnett Gardens at the quarter-final stage.

Hill told the Jamaica Observer that the importance of football in the western region was key in bringing the play-offs back to MoBay.

“One of [our] primary mandates is to continue to grow the league and football in the country and that simply means across all the length and breadth of the island. Having games of this magnitude, especially in the western end of the island, is a significant win for us,” he said.

HILL… having games of this magnitude, especially in the western end of the island, is a significant win for us

“We know the support the galvanised generally across the western end of the island and the venue quality is at tip-top shape in recent times so the ability to execute in Montego Bay gives us another chance of achieving that mandate that ensuring football is not just in the Kingston and St Andrew region but spread across the length and breadth of the island,” Hill added.

With the Catherine Hall-based stadium hosting top-flight matches on a consistent basis since last February, Vernon believes the return of the play-offs is huge for the city in many ways.

“We have not achieved the desired result as yet, but we are looking forward to success. The play-off symbolises the returns on social and financial investment made in football for the last five years in an effort to reinvigorate positive engagement among youth through sports. Therefore, such a milestone is significant for the city of Montego Bay,” he told the Observer.

Vernon says he’s expecting to see a financial boost for the city with an increase in visitors to the stadium come Thursday.

“Like our other city events, our community normally comes out to support the efforts of Montego Bay. We anticipate nothing less than a robust support for the club when we commence our sojourn to championship,” he said.

“This support comes with many spin-offs that will benefit the city’s local economy in several ways. When people go out to enjoy themselves, they spend.”

Being mayor of Montego Bay, Vernon is rooting for MBU, who are in the play-offs for the first time in eight years, not just to make it out of today’s quarter-finals but take home the title.

“Champion is in the club’s DNA, and we would be delighted to bring the title home. When our premier league team does well it inspires a higher level of performance at the schoolboy football level and, at the moment, that is in dire need of improvement,” he said.

Vernon has also made assurances that the stadium will be ready for Thursday’s matches, thanks to the efforts of the St James Municipal Corporation and the management of MBU.

VERNON… such a milestone is significant for the city of Montego Bay