Allie Cup hopes to find sponsorship after COVID

The organising committee of the Allie Cup said despite the disappointment of cancelling the annual Allie Cup invitational football tournament, they remain positive that some good can come out of the crisis.

According to a release, the committee said it is saddened by the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has forced it to suspend this year's staging of the event and, consequently, its plans to add another regular-size field to the sporting complex at Excelsior High School.

Preliminary work had already begun, with measurement being taken, while the laying of the field had been an ongoing project over the preceding two years.

The plan this year was to increase of the number of teams participating from 10 to 12 teams, plus have two exhibition over-40 games.

However, the organisers said they have had to fund the tournament out of their own pockets, and they believe the delay of the event, which was scheduled for July 10-11, is an opportunity for them to generate some much-needed sponsorship for the tournament.

SILVER LINING

"There is a silver lining in the wake of the postponement. It will hopefully give some breathing room to continue to try to secure more corporate sponsorship, the dearth of which has been one of the few bugbears of the three-year-old tournament," the release read.

Proceeds from the event had been earmarked to help fund equipment to assist other underserved schools' football teams.

The committee say they hope to stage an even bigger and better tournament, which has become an integral addition to the Jamaican high-school sporting calendar, next year.