Adrian Frater, News Editor

Robert Hendricks, chief executive officer of the Aquasol Theme Park in Montego Bay, announces details of his company's sponsorship of the western Aquasol Under-17 and Chairman's Cup senior football competitions, which will kick off on Sunday. - Adrian Frater photo

WESTERN BUREAU:

INTER-PARISH football will make a belated return to western Jamaica this weekend when action kicks off in the $500,000 Aquasol Under-17 and Chairman's Cup senior competitions, which will be contested by the parish teams of Hanover, Westmoreland, Trelawny and St James.

Speaking at the competition's launch at the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego Bay on Wednesday, Orville Powell, chairman of the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) Western Confederation, said the aim of the competition was to reignite the region's football and promote unity among the parishes.

Rebuilding football

"The time has come for us to unite as a football family as we seek to take the game back to a position of prominence in the region," said Powell. "We are committed to rebuilding football in the west and we consider this competition as an important component in this task," he said.

The competitions, which will see the 'juniors' playing for the Stephen 'Shorty' Malcolm Trophy, and the 'seniors' the Winston 'Twinny Bug' Anglin Trophy, will feature each parish playing against each other on a home-and-away basis. At the completion of the fixtures, the two top teams will meet in the finals.

Players who were born in the west will be obligated to represent the parish of their birth, while players who were born outside the confederation must have lived in a parish for a minimum of five years to be eligible to represent the team. Each parish team must field at least five Under-23 players.

In lauding the vision behind the staging of the two competitions, Dale Spencer, president of the Manchester Football Association and first vice-president of the JFF, said he hoped the competitions would help return western Jamaica to its rightful place in national football.

Proud history

"The west has a proud history of producing outstanding clubs and players over the years, and any initiative to help return the west to a position of prominence must be welcomed," said Spencer. "These two competitions must be seen as the beginning of a process to rebuild football in this region."

Robert Hendricks, chief executive officer of the Aquasol Theme Park, said the sponsorship of the competition was his company's way of helping to unify the region and taming the monsters of crime and violence.

In Sunday's first round of games, the Hanover teams will host their Trelawny counterparts at the Watson Taylor Park in Lucea.