GOALS galore marked the start of the Serge St Thomas Major League on Ash Wednesday, with Bath Sports Club beating Prospect 5-4 in the opening match of a double-header at York, much to the delight of sponsors Serge Island Dairies, McKay Security, and Xpress Sports.

Jessica Jackson of McKay Security and Xpress Sports’ Matthew Christie joined Serge Island’s brand manager, Deidra Grey, for the official launch following the opening match, after which White Horses started their title defence with a 1-0 victory over Heartsease United.

Jackson was particularly enthused in announcing McKay Security’s $5.1 million sponsorship of the St Thomas Football Association, including prize money of $1m to winners of the Major League, which the FA’s president, Lascelles Logan, described as “a major boost”.

“McKay Security’s $1-million prize money to the winners of the Major League, moving from $200,000, was Jason McKay acknowledging that the winning team would need a significant sum to assist in the play-offs on way to what will hopefully be a Jamaica Football Federation National Tier 2 Championship spot, the stepping stone to the Premier League,” Logan said.

Jackson detailed McKay Security’s sponsorship, pointing out that in addition to the $1 million Major League prize money, the firm had also committed $800,000 towards the league’s operational expenses as well as a broadcast deal, valued at $1 million, in which the final will be shown live on CVM Television.

Underlining McKay Security’s commitment to youth development, Jackson noted the firm being title sponsor of the Under-17 league into which it will pump $2.3 million in addition to a partnership with Restaurants of Jamaica, providing two buckets of KFC, one per team, on match days, a deal valued at $1 million.

Jackson noted that St Thomas once fielded Premier League teams such as White Horses and star-studded Port Morant United, which twice made the semi-finals, featuring national players such as Hugh “Bingi” Blair, Wayne Palmer, Lenworth “Teacher” Hyde, Richard “Duck” Green, Dane Walker, and Peter Cargill as well as Trinidadian internationals, Russell Latapy and Leonson Lewis, coached by Jackie Walters and later Alan “Skill” Cole.

“We are proud to once again be part of the St Thomas football fraternity and look forward to the day when the parish, spurred by this level of sponsorship, again rises to the pinnacle of local football,” Jackson said.