Dream Entertainment Limited has taken over the management of Arnett Gardens Football Club (AGFC) in a strategic move announced at a press conference at Real Equity Professional Suites in Kingston on Monday. The event was attended by AGFC chairman Mark Golding, executive members, and Dream Entertainment’s chairman Kamal Bankay and managing director Scott Dunn.
The acquisition, effective from September 1, marks Dream Entertainment’s expansion into the sports entertainment sector, combining the leading brand in Jamaican entertainment with the biggest name in Jamaican professional football. This partnership aims to introduce new initiatives and significant investments to enhance the club’s performance and elevate its profile locally and internationally.
Golding emphasized the importance of AGFC to his constituency, stating, “AGFC is a very important institution and enterprise in the constituency in which I’m a Member of Parliament, and it means a great deal to the residents of Arnett Gardens, Trench Town, Jones Town, and surrounding communities. Importantly for me, I was seeking a commercial partner to guide strategy and manage the club moving forward, to grow revenues and achieve financial sustainability. This is important because any enterprise needs to achieve that in order to be there for the medium to long term.”
Dunn highlighted the potential for growth, noting that sports is the most consumed form of entertainment worldwide. “We want to build the community and build the football club; one can’t happen without the other. So, it’s not just about going and making Arnett a winning team – and that’s a must! because losing anuh our thing. So, we’re going there to win, but we’re going there to do other things because winning is more than just trophies and money. The win is building the community stronger and making Arnett the apple of everybody’s eye.”
Dream Entertainment is known for operating the Caribbean’s largest dancehall festival, Dream Weekend, and Jamaica’s largest carnival band, Xodus Carnival.
Dunn expressed a vision to expand Arnett Gardens’ reach, stating, “My belief right now is that professional football in Jamaica is too community focused. In terms of a spectator standpoint, it should be much wider. Arnett Gardens is an iconic community, and if we look at it, Trench Town is a bigger brand than Kingston from a tourism perspective. How I view us moving forward in Arnett is, wherever Jamaican people live in the world, and wherever Caribbean people live, ultimately, Arnett Gardens is going to be their football club. We will make Arnett as big of a brand as any other coming out of Jamaica, just like Dream, Sandals, Grace and others.”
The 2024-25 Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League season, returning to a three-round format for the first time since 2018-2019, is set to begin on Sunday. Arnett Gardens will face Dunbeholden FC in their opening match at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30 pm.
