Restaurants of Jamaica’s (ROJ) through its KFC product, on Wednesday pumped a J$7 million sponsorship into the Reggae Girlz program ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup Finals.
The partnership with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) will last for one year and will see KFC injecting $6 million in cash and $1 million in products into the Reggae Girlz program.
The Lorne Donaldson-coached Reggae Girlz are currently in a training camp in Jamaica as they continue finalizing preparations ahead of the July 20 to August 20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
For ROJ’s Brand Manager Andrei Roper, this sponsorship is merely an expansion of the company’s association with the Reggae Girlz captain Khadija “Bunny” Shaw.
“We really wanted to help to make the Reggae Girlz’ journey to the World Cup that much easier, theirs is a tremendous achievement and I don’t think we fully appreciate as a nation what a huge achievement it is,” Roper said.
“They are true ambassadors for Jamaica, not just for women’s sport but for brand Jamaica as a whole, so for us, at KFC we pride ourselves on giving back; just supporting all those pillars of society that really represent everything positive about Jamaica,” he continued.
“Women’s football is an area where we did see an opportunity to really give a bit more as a brand. Last year, we started a partnership with Khadija Shaw as our big deal ambassador, so this is just a fitting extension of our relationship with Khadija, who is the face of women’s football and so we are broadening our scope and partnership to the wider Reggae Girlz program.”
“So, we just want to say thanks and just to help make their preparations a bit easier because we know it’s going to be a tough group and so we want to just really make the last lap going Down Under that much easier. So great partnership for us and we are glad to be on board,” Roper said.
While being appreciative of ROJ’s sponsorship, JFF President Mike Ricketts is of the belief that the Girlz have not been fully recognized for their efforts over the years.
“We need to show far more appreciation to our Girlz and when you think of the struggles some of these players went through, the sacrifice and commitment to get a country like ours to two global tournaments consecutively, it is no ordinary achievement,” Ricketts said during a press conference at JFF’s St Lucia Avenue base on Wednesday.
“So, I must recognize Mr. [Andrei] Roper and KFC for coming on board to partner with the JFF to ensure that we improve the quality of life for all these girls that constantly and consistently make us so very proud. This is something that we can gloat about and hopefully, this really sends a strong signal to Jamaica as it relates to the positive and social impact these two qualifications have on our little boys and girls,” he added.
“We are just intent on ensuring that the whole psyche of our little boys and girls is positively impacted. We struggle to meet our footballing demands when you think that we have 12 teams, six on either side of the gender, that we must take care of, it is challenging, but we are managing.”
“We must put programs in place, and we are intent on getting a proper grassroots program. We have a committee which is responsible for talent identification, grassroots and development, so this committee will be very active in identifying grassroots kids and having them properly harnessed and then get them in a formal setting so we can then make the transition from little kids to high school players and then inevitably, national players,” Ricketts said.
 through its KFC product, on Wednesday pumped a J$7 million sponsorship into the Reggae Girlz){kind=link}