Digicel and Wisynco have renewed their commitments as title sponsors of schoolboy football for the next three years.
The announcement was made by Keith Wellington, president of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) during the launch of the 2022 season at the National Stadium on Wednesday.
The new season is scheduled to kick off on Saturday, September 10 with 11 Manning Cup matches and 16 daCosta Cup games.
Defending Manning Cup champions Kingston College (KC) and the reigning daCosta Cup champions Garvey Maceo are among the teams, which will be in action on the opening day.
KC and Garvey Maceo High will be in action at Sabina Park, which features a triple header.
Garvey Maceo will begin their title defence against Kemps Hill in the opening game at Sabina Park at 2:30 pm.
An official opening ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 pm.
KC will start the defence of the Manning Cup against Calabar High in the second match at 5:00 pm while St George’s College and Ardenne High will face off in the final game at 7:00 pm.
KC, Calabar, St George’s College, and Ardenne High are drawn in Zone A with Pembroke Hall High and Eltham High.
Digicel will invest $84 million for the new three-year period in the urban area Manning Cup and Walker Cup knockout competitions. Wisynco announced a sponsorship package of $108 million in the rural area daCosta Cup and Ben Francis knockout.
Elon Parkinson, public relations and communications amnager of Digicel Jamaica, who announced his company’s sponsorship package, said the digital operator is excited to be partnering with ISSA again.
The format of the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup will remain the same.
The Manning Cup will feature 37 schools placed into six groups.
Sixteen of the 37 schools will progress from the first round to the second round. This means that the first and second-placed teams from each group along with the four best third-placed teams will contest the second round.
The second round will be played on a home and away basis. For that round, the teams will be seeded. The eight winners on aggregate will then advance to the quarter-finals with two zones of four teams. The first and second-placed teams in each zone will advance to the semi-finals. The winners will then contest the final.
Eighty-one schools will contest the daCosta Cup.
Thirty-two of the 81 teams from the first round will advance to the second round, meaning the first and second-placed teams from each group along with the two best third-placed teams.
The second round will be played on a home and away basis. The 16 winners on aggregate will then advance to the Round of 16, with four zones of four teams. The first and second-placed teams from each zone (8 teams) will then advance to the quarter-finals, with two zones of four teams.
The first and second-placed teams (4 teams) will advance to the semi-final and the two winners will then contest the final.
SportsMax TV will be the official broadcast sponsors. CEO, Nicolas Matthews, announced a deal that will see SportsMax TV carrying 65 fully produced games for the season, up from 55 last season.