ISSA/Pepsi Schoolboy sponsorship agreement

What is there to be said about this topic? Okay let me try and tell you the whole story as I understand it. Now as a background all you 'ballers' who used to play Manning and daCosta Cup ball know very well some of the tough conditions and situations that we all had to go through to play for our schools. Do you remember camp life? Hungry belly? One pair of football boots? No running shoes? There may be exceptions, but for the most part it is because of love of football and the hope that one day you'll make it to the pros why most ballers put up with these dreadful conditions and stick out camp in order to play for one's school. Under different circumstances most of us would be doing something else.
Well an opportunity presented itself for ISSA, the body that organizes schoolboy football competitions in Jamaica, to set about rectifying the conditions mentioned above. That opportunity came in the form of a lucrative sponsorship offer from Coca-Cola to the tune of J$30m per year not to mention other benefits as is reported in the local newspapers. And what does ISSA do? It turns down the offer and rolls over for its longtime partner Pepsi. It favors Pepsi's sponsorship offer above Coca-Cola's for reasons it has chosen not to disclose.
That is the long and the short of the matter. I must say I am disappointed with ISSA. Their approach to the organizing and operating of schoolboy football is disturbing. They seem not to realise that they have a critical role to play in the development of the nation's football. Yes the Jamaica Football Federation has the ultimate responsibility for development but ISSA role is critical. I have posited my views on this in previous blog entries but I continue to reiterate that if ISSA get serious the Manning and daCosta Cup competitions can attain to an even higher status than they currently enjoy. Also when I look at Jamaica's recent failure to qualify for the U-17 World Cup in Korea I have to Blame ISSA. Too many of our most talented footballers are kicked out of school too early and left to pursue a career as 'hustlers' when with a little more patience and assistance they could be world-class footballers. This is a contentious issue and we need to resolve it!