By Paul-Andre Walker, Staff ReporterSIX MONTHS and two postponements later, the Manchester Football Association (MFA) is yet to confirm sponsorship for this season's Manchester Major League.
The league was scheduled to start on February 7 but had to be postponed until February 15 to facilitate the confirmation of sponsorship by Dunsinane Quarry, which sponsored the competition for the past two years.
The tardiness of getting confirmation has meant that the league had to be postponed again and the new date of February 22 is shaky at best.
"We have put off the league twice already and chances are we'll have to do that again this weekend," said MFA president Dale Spencer.
The MFA has held the position that written confirmation of sponsorship must be a prerequisite of any agreement with the sponsors. This position was brought about by the non-payment of $310,000 to teams that had won cash incentives last season.
The MFA has, since the promise of sponsorship by Dunsinane Quarry, written two letters to the would-be sponsors calling for not only the payment of last season's outstanding balance but confirmation of this season's sponsorship at the earliest possible time.
According to Spencer, those letters have not been responded to in writing.
"I have been dealing with promises for six months now and you must understand that I am wary of not having something in writing," said Spencer.
MANDATE
In a meeting on February 9, between the Major League clubs and the MFA, a mandate was given to Spencer to resolve the issue of sponsorship with Dunsinane Quarry within a week or move on.
That week has ended and in a press release the MFA renewed its appeal to corporate Jamaica and to anyone within Manchester who loves football to assist with the sponsorship of the Major League.
"My position is that I will take help anywhere I can get it, I have been waiting to no avail and if this continues it will mean the destruction of football in Manchester. These are the premier clubs within the parish and if this happens to them what can we say about the football here," said Spencer.
Dunsinane Quarry, on the other hand, has maintained its willingness to sponsor the competition and has said it will see its promise come to fruition.
Chief Executive Officer of Dunsinane Quarry, Patrick Crawford, still maintains that bad communication is at the heart of the trouble but that solutions are on the horizon.
"We need to stop the negativity and move forward for the greater good of football," he said.
"There must be an element of trust between the MFA and the sponsors, we have never had to put anything in writing before," he added.
Crawford went as far as putting a timeline on the conclusion of the sponsorship deal saying: "He (Spencer) will have that letter between now (yesterday) and Friday and that's a guarantee.
"We are committed to sports within the parish and we would like to meet with the club executives so we can apologise for the lateness of last season's payments," he said.
