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The year 1986 remains a bitter one for many of the Jamaica College (JC) fraternity as they felt cheated, alleging that Wolmer’s Boys threw a game against Kingston College, that eliminated them from the Manning Cup competition.

That year, one Mark Chisholm played left back for Wolmer’s Boys; one Craig Butler played right back for Jamaica College—and there was no love loss.

Some 39 years on, the reps from the three rival schools were intrinsically brought together for a more purposeful cause as Chisholm now the Chief Revenue Officer at Sagicor; Butler the owner of Vere Phoenix Football Club and Kingston College past student, Owen Hill, the CEO of Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL), all involved in a whopping $8m deal.

Sagicor has just renewed its sponsorship of the local premier league to provide health insurance to the players and also adopted Vere Phoenix as their club for the rest of the season through the PFJL as facilitators.

Chisholm said Sagicor is big on health and supporting the development of communities and football is the perfect tool.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday at Sagicor’s New Kingston headquarters, Chisholm said he was proud to partner with football once again.

“I can still remember when Chris Williams, four years ago, gave me a call, and if you receive the same call, you would know that when Chris William called is a different matter. It was about building communities, creating opportunities and strengthening a legacy. I knew it was more than just a sponsorship,” Chisholm explained.

“Today, I’m extremely proud to reaffirm Sagicor’s commitment to the league because time and time again, it has proven to be a partnership that delivers impact both on and off the field. At Sagicor Life, we firmly believe in the viability of all our communities in which we operate and we are rooted in the well-being of our people and the well-being of the nation, Jamaica, which football is a charge that drives that well-being,” said Chisholm.

“This $8m will provide exclusive insurance sponsorship with Sagicor Life as a sole insurance partner of the JPL. We will offer players the opportunity to sign up for our prepaid card. It is not just the health card, it is doing business and encouraging the youngsters to save funds that they earn through this sport,” said Chisholm.

Meanwhile, Butler who was in attendance with his son Kyle, showed his appreciation for the sponsorship, noting that he spent $6m on injured players.

“I’ve spent in the last year at least $6m on knee surgeries. I can only imagine what all the other clubs have gone through over the years and to see you come forward in this way makes it very, very important,” said Butler.

“Look at the word vision. Vision is not seeing what is, but what could be. On behalf of the Vere Phoenix, I wanna thank you very much Sagicor. This is something that you have done with your team [Sagicor] that really is important to the success. Blessed is he that plants the tree who may not enjoy this,” he added.

Also, Hill, CEO of Professional Football Jamaica Limited, was welcoming, highlighting that health and wellness are extremely important in a sport where contact is necessary.

 “Insurance is a major part of what we need. It’s actually a prerequisite, I would say, for all the players,” said Hill,

“So, it was no question when we had that discussion with Sagicor to jump on board again to ensure that we have insurance for our players. We have over 500 players. It’s a prerequisite for CONCACAF to ensure that the players essentially have insurance to go forward,” Hill noted.

“I’m speaking from the position I used to play. I understand what it is and I also know exactly, when you have corporate giants like Sagicor onboard, what it means for the global ecosystem,” said Hill.

“We will ensure that your brand is protected and we will promote as best as possible to the goodness of the country, that Jamaica is the place of choice to live work, raise a family and do business,” said Hill.