IT’S an established fact which all too often gets forgotten that when business operators and corporations provide sponsorship for sport they are also expecting to promote their products.

We are reminded of this by Mr Andrei Roper, marketing manager for top flight fast food brand KFC, as he explained the rationale for his company continuing to support Jamaica’s schoolboy football.

Mr Roper is reported in today’s edition of this newspaper saying that the strategy makes sense since it amounts to, “being a part of some of the biggest platforms in Jamaica, platforms like schoolboy football that bring people together, the passion and the excitement…”

And further that, “This year is especially important” because KFC is, “celebrating 50 years with lots of promotions, lots of celebrations…”

As we understand it, Wisynco Group Limited, major distributors and manufacturers of food, snacks, beverages and paper products, as well as KFC, will be responsible for more than half of the approximately $80-million private sector sponsorship for schoolboy football this year.

We are reminded of this by Mr Andrei Roper, marketing manager for top flight fast food brand KFC, as he explained the rationale for his company continuing to support Jamaica’s schoolboy football.

Mr Roper is reported in today’s edition of this newspaper saying that the strategy makes sense since it amounts to, “being a part of some of the biggest platforms in Jamaica, platforms like schoolboy football that bring people together, the passion and the excitement…”

And further that, “This year is especially important” because KFC is “celebrating 50 years with lots of promotions, lots of celebrations…”

As we understand it, Wisynco Group Limited, major distributors and manufacturers of food, snacks, beverages and paper products, as well as KFC, will be responsible for more than half of the approximately $80-million private sector sponsorship for schoolboy football this year.

Wisynco’s sponsorship will be in the form of beverage and snack brands.

Other sponsors include Charles Chocolate through its snack brands.

CVM TV is the new broadcast partner with ISSA ,replacing regional network SportsMax which shut down operations recently.

It’s not by accident that every year sponsors are attracted to schoolboy football, which has been organised by school leaders for well in excess of 100 years. Under the banner of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), high school sports competitions rank in the top tier as far as structure and organisation are concerned.

And for as long as most of us can remember, schoolboy football has been arguably the most popular sporting competition in Jamaica, rivalled only by the annual Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs), also run by ISSA and sponsored by GraceKennedy.

And as is the case with other sports, ISSA-run schoolboy football has traditionally been the grass roots spring board for national and professional platforms.

We note that the Gleaner newspaper is reporting ISSA President Mr Keith Wellington as voicing some concern that late withdrawals of some schools have adversely affected the all-rural daCosta Cup this year.

A total of 77 schools are now down to compete in the daCosta Cup, following several late withdrawals which have affected the structuring of groups in that competition.

There were 81 high schools in the daCosta Cup last season.

There are 39 schools in the urban-based Manning Cup this season.

Mr Wellington is reported as saying that a fine has been imposed on those schools withdrawing at the last minute, in a bid to discourage the practice which adversely affects proper organisation and scheduling.

From this distance we suspect an ongoing problem is the sheer cost of funding a football programme. Most schools simply do not collect enough at the gate to significantly offset expenses such as travel. In some cases too, rental costs arise because of inadequate playing facilities at school grounds.

Those aspects have undermined schoolboy cricket to an alarming extent over recent decades.

The football fraternity needs to watch these issues very carefully going forward.