Young basketball players across Jamaica will have a shot at success this summer with continued sponsorship from quick-service restaurant KFC Jamaica.
This year, KFC is reaffirming its commitment to local basketball with a $4.5 million investment in the 2024 Jumpball Basketball Programme and the Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) Star Search Basketball & Life Skills Camp. These initiatives aim to nurture the next generation of basketball talent in Jamaica.
Over 400 young players, ages 8 to 18, will benefit from this donation as KFC Jamaica continues its long-standing support of basketball in the country.
Andrei Roper, marketing manager for Restaurants of Jamaica, expressed KFC’s enthusiasm for supporting these camps. “Jamaica’s youth have always excelled at sports, particularly basketball. Over the years, we have witnessed the tremendous growth and impact of local basketball programs such as Jumpball and Star Search on our young players, and we remain committed to consistently extending our support. We are excited to be part of projects that are as dedicated to youth development as we are at KFC. We value our long-standing partnership with these programs and appreciate their efforts in supporting youth education and basketball futures. Ensuring their continued growth is a priority for us,” Roper said,
Through this partnership, KFC will encourage young athletes to take full advantage of the expertise provided by top coaches, while creating opportunities for educational and professional advancement through scholarships and potential careers in professional basketball.
This year, KFC has contributed $2 million in cash and $1 million in meal sponsorship to the JaBA Star Search Basketball & Life Skills Camp. The camp, held from July 14 to 19 at GC Foster College in St Catherine, will use KFC’s support to cover accommodation for players and coaches, transportation, training equipment, speaker incentives, and other costs for the 120 campers.
“We welcome the continued support of KFC because, without them, we could not deliver such an amazing opportunity to our campers. Through this partnership, we will continue to position our young players to grow and excel beyond borders. In the past, hundreds of our players have received scholarships for universities and high schools overseas, and we just want to continue doing that,” said JaBA president Paulton Gordon.
The camp started in Kingston on Monday and will move to other parishes, including St Elizabeth, St Mary, Manchester, St Ann, and St James, from July 26 to August 31.
Jumpball senior coach Rohan Robinson added, “We are grateful to KFC for extending support to our program for yet another execution. We aim to make summer memorable for young athletes, and we could not do it without the help of KFC.”
