All Sports Promotions Director, Anthony Harford made the announcement at a press conference on Monday, explaining that after a brief hiatus, blink | bmobile has once again agreed to continue its nine-year relationship with the league. Harford thanked the company for its support, particularly given the challenging economic times.
“Please accept my thanks and that of All Sport and on behalf of all the teams,” said Harford to TSTT’s senior manager Brand, Public Relations and External Affairs, Graeme Suite who was present for the announcement. “Sponsorship is very hard to come by; this year was particularly challenging, and we warmly welcome TSTT back.”
While Harford said he was unable to announce when the finals will take place, as is customary, due to conflicting national team schedules, he explained that nine clubs had already qualified for the knockout stage, while 14 would start the first round for advancement on Wednesday. Defending champions Guaya United have found themselves in the list of 14 vying for a second round berth.
He also shared that as part of blink | bmobile’s sponsorship, the finals will be taped for airing on local television. “In an effort to try and build the quality of the affair and people’s awareness of the Super League, we have decided this year, with TSTT’s help to videotape the entire final and condense it into a programme that gives the national community, those who don’t attend the final, a decent opportunity to see the quality of football that is played in the blink | bmobile Super League.” said Harford.
Speaking on behalf of blink | bmobile, Suite said the company was pleased to continue its partnership with the National Super League and looked forward to building on its success over the years. “We appreciate the role the league plays in the overall ecosystem for football in Trinidad and Tobago in terms of nurturing talent and identifying potential and we want to continue to have a role in that,” said Suite.
“We recently facilitated training camps for young players in the Gally Cummings Finishing Academy over the last two months as we recognise the sport opens many doors for young people who are committed to really working hard on becoming the best that they can be. The Super League is an extension of our commitment to the sport and to the players. We are really grateful for the opportunity that All Sports has given us and we have all the confidence in the way the league has always been administered over the years and we are very proud that he has considered us to be a worthwhile partner to maintain the league.”
The prize structure of the blink | bmobile National Super League Knockout is as follows:
1st: $100,000
2nd: $50,000
3rd: $25,000
4th: $25,000
Additionally, blink | bmobile will award high-end mobile devices to five outstanding players in the league.