JPL season kicks off tomorrow with promise of bigger fan experience

LOCAL FOOTBALL fans are being promised an exciting season of action as the Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) prepares to kick off its latest campaign tomorrow.

Fourteen of the nation’s elite club teams will begin their battle for supremacy and the chance to lift the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) trophy, with PFJL CEO Owen Hill revealing at Thursday’s season launch that spectators will feel more connected to the JPL product this year.

“Energy is going to be high with the broadcast. You’ll be able to have it on your mobile, appointment TV every night, and you can bet on the product,” Hill said, emphasising the league’s push to create a more engaging experience for supporters.

Hill also highlighted a key partnership that he said will give fans a familiar venue to watch and enjoy the football, describing it as an important part of the league’s plans to provide supporters with a consistent gathering spot to follow the action.

“We’re not taking it from the communities. What we’re doing is expanding the reach with the number of venues available,” Hill told The Gleaner.

“The IPL, through (general manager) Major Desmon Brown and chairman David Shirley, they actually made it work, and we’re excited about that,” Hill added

Defending champions Portmore United, the nation’s most successful club with eight titles, will be looking to go back-to-back this season. Assistant coach Garwin Tulloch pointed to consistency as a defining factor behind the club’s success.

“We’ve chosen stability and we’ve added a few pieces. we’ve kept the core and we are strong,” he told The Gleaner.

Meanwhile, with star player Sean Leighton set to join Queens Park Rangers in January, Phoenix Chapelton Maroons are aiming to put themselves in the best position heading into the second round.

“I think it will be a good preparation. I think I bring creativity,” Leighton told The Gleaner “Just expect what I do best which is score and assist,” he added.

Monday Night Football also returns this season, airing on TVJ, TVJ SN, 1SpotMedia.com and Radio Jamaica 94FM. Head of TVJ, Ransford Ricketts, said the league is back where it belongs.

The season kicks off Sunday, September 13.