Dunbeholden, Harbour View battle for $2.5-m JPL prize
DUNBEHOLDEN FC and Harbour View FC will battle for the $2.5-million prize when they come face to face in the final of the Jamaica Premier League at Sabina Park, starting at 6:00 pm on Sunday.
The runners-up will receive $1.75 million, third place will pocket 1.34 million, while the fourth-placed team will take home $1.05 million.
The organisers have promised a fun-filled day of activities, starting from 1:00 pm with a pre-game party to be followed by the third-place play-off between outgoing champions Cavalier and last year’s losing finalists Waterhouse FC, which is effectively a replay of last year’s final.
There will be more activities after the third-place match and before the final thus the crowd can expect to be fully entertained.
With the semi-finals being sold out on Wednesday and the VIP and VVIP sections for Sunday already sold out, Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) announced that the George Headley Stand will be opened for the first time to accommodate the added fans expected for the final. The Party Stand will also be opened as well.
Chairman of the PFJL Chris Williams was brimming with excitement at the press conference at Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Friday, even as he thanked corporate Jamaica for their role in redeveloping the league.
“We are very happy with the support that we have gotten from corporate Jamaica which has allowed us to support the clubs. You cannot get [a] world-class national team without world-class clubs, and so we want to get world-class clubs you need a world class league,” he said.
Dunbehoden and Harbour View will be meeting for the third time this season, with the St Catherine-based team holding the edge having won the first matchup 1-0 while the second ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Both teams enter the final on the back of contrasting but dramatic semi-final wins, which sets up Sunday’s finale as a must-see event.
On their way to the final Harbour View took the scalps of Arnett Gardens in the quarter-finals and Waterhouse in the semi-finals, both of which teams were considered title contenders.
After finishing second in the regular season, Dunbeholden got by champions Cavalier in a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory to reach their first Premier League final.
Both coaches, Harold Thomas of Dunbeholden and Ludlow Bernard of Harbour View, are expecting an exciting game for the fans to enjoy.
Neither coach has won the league before but while Dunbeholden have only been playing at this level since 2018, Harbour View have already won four titles and are looking to make it five titles on Sunday.