UNDER THREAT

James Pearson, president, St Mary Football Association, is worried sick that the parish’s entire football programme — under-15s, under-17s and Major League — could catastrophically collapse if, for the third season, no sponsor answers its calls for assistance.

“It has been a few years now since we have been playing without sponsorship. In fact, it has been so for the last two seasons. This would be the third season,” said Pearson, who has been at the helm of the St Mary FA since 2016.

“Under normal circumstances, our Major League would have started by, latest, January. We are not far off from some parishes. Based on my checks, a number of parishes started a week ago.

“However, we are in serious problems. We don’t have a sponsor, which also means if the Major League is not played, St Mary would not have a club in the Eastern Region play-offs against St Ann and Portland, the first step in graduating a team to the JFF Tier Two,” Pearson pointed out.

The possibility of Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) sanctions also hang over St Mary’s head should the parish not field teams to participate in the mandatory national youth championships.

“We are seeking some serious help,” said Pearson.

“Our youth leagues, a JFF stipulation, would commence after the Major League, during the summer months when school is out. We would normally play two or three matches per day.

“However, last season we did not run complete youth leagues. What we had to do was call up the clubs and had some training sessions, from which we chose the better players to represent the parish,” Pearson disclosed, adding that securing sponsorship has been especially challenging since Jamaica Producers Group changed ownership, a $110-billion amalgamation with PanJam Investment Limited in April 2023.

“Over the years, when Captain Burrell was around, he would assist us through Captain’s Bakery. After his passing, we had Jamaica Producers Group (JP) assisting for a few years. After JP, we got some assistance through Pre-Mix Concrete at some point in time but, for the most part, JP was our mainstay until management changed,” Pearson explained.

“There are not many businesses in St Mary, so we have the usual challenges, but it has got worse. It has certainly been a challenge this year. I don’t know if it is a result of last year’s Hurricane Mellissa, but we are in serious trouble,” he reiterated.

Pearson said at least one St Mary club, JFF Tier Two team Gray’s Inn, gets some level of sponsorship from Pan Jamaica Group, formerly Jamaica Producers Group, but in an umbilical cord sort of way.

“Gray’s Inn’s home ground is owned by that company and some of the club executives are actually employees,” he explained, naming 10 other teams left out in the cold from a parish that once paraded Highgate United and Star Cosmos in the National Premier League.

“We normally have around 11 Major League teams. Last year only nine participated. Our regulars are Axum FC, Rangers FC, Albion Mountain FC, Gayle United, Highgate United, St Mary Central, Enfield United, Livity United, Mango Valley United and, at one point in time, Police Youth Club,” Pearson pointed out.

“Gray’s Inn is in Tier Two for about the fourth season, a sponsored team, basically a home team. However, the FA has not been getting sponsorship, putting us in danger of not playing our Major league, which will have serious repercussions,” he stated.