Former national player Ricardo Fuller will be a Digicel ambassador for the Manning Cup, the new title sponsors announced amongst a raft of innovative ideas for the upcoming schoolboy football season.
Fuller, who played for Camperdown High in the 1990s will be mentoring a number of Manning Cup players, and at the end of the season he will select a Digicel All Star XI.
Justin Morin, CEO of Digicel Jamaica, made the announcement at the launch of the schoolboy season on Wednesday at Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew.
“I am very pleased to announce another new addition to the 2018 competition. Digicel will partner with ISSA and their #ISSArealGOAL campaign to provide professional mentorship to select teams through our newly appointed programme ambassador, former national and English Premier League player Ricardo Fuller,” said Morin.
“A product of the Manning Cup and an inspirational figure, Ricardo will guide our young, aspiring ‘ballers on how to make it into the professional leagues after they’ve transitioned from the schoolboy football programme,” he added.
Morin, who played football for St George’s College, said Fuller’s impressive record, which included a total of 120 goals while playing for overseas clubs, is a great example for the young players to learn important life lessons by being part of his mentorship and leadership clinics throughout the season.
At the end of the season, the Digicel All-Star XI will receive special recognition for their outstanding performance from the sponsors.
The 38-year-old Fuller played 77 times for Jamaica and scored 10 goals. But the wily striker had a more profitable club career, netting approximately 120 goals. Fuller played for Tivoli Gardens FC in the Jamaica’s national premier league before moving overseas to play professionally. He represented Crystal Palace Hearts, Preston North End, Portsmouth Southampton and Stoke City, Charlton Athletic, Blackpool and Millwall before ending his playing career at Oldham Athletic in October 2015.
Meanwhile, this year marks the unveiling of a newly designed trophy for the Digicel Manning Cup competition, and to give everyone an opportunity to see it, Digicel will be launching a trophy tour — making stops at Digicel stores and pep rallies at corporate area schools.
“This will certainly add motivation to the teams and remind everyone of the glory of being crowned Manning Cup champion,” Morin pointed out.
“We are aware of the significance of schoolboy football to many Jamaicans and the emotions it evokes within everyone who becomes a part of it. And because we know you won’t want to miss a minute of the ballgame — whether you’re a player on the field, coach on the side lines or die-hearted supporter from near or afar — you can be assured that Digicel will be there to bring you all the excitement to your fingertips.
“For the very first time every Digicel customer will be able to watch the matches live on the SportsMax channel via our PlayGo streaming app and get match stats and updates from other providers like http://www.schoolboyfootball.com, LOOP and Digicel’s social media pages.
“We’ll be launching simple, affordable packages so that everyone will be able to watch a televised game while on the go,” said Morin.
Digicel promises to bring a new level of energy, fun and excitement to entertainment at the matches to include ‘Fan View’ videos for social media involving spectators, and also lots of on-the-spot surprises for the fans.
Photo: Daily Mail
See original story published in the Daily Observer on Friday, August 24, 2018
Jamaica Highlights 