The VM Foundation officially kicked off the return of its highly anticipated VM UpLift Under-13 Football Competition, on April 11, through a partnership with the St James Football Association, with 25 schools registered to participate.
This year’s event, which has seen an increase in the number of schools registered, will go beyond the enhancement of sporting skills, with a keen focus on the holistic development of student-athletes and coaches. Nutrition, health and wellbeing, leadership and financial literacy will also complement the competition and help participants to perform optimally over the long term.
Samantha Charles, Chief Executive Officer of the VM Foundation, affirmed the Foundation’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders through sports. “It’s hard to overstate the critical role sports play in fostering character development in young people. Sports provide a key pathway for us to deliver on our core mandate of youth development. With the competition’s expanded focus this year, we’re excited to see the long-term opportunities that will unfold for the participants.”
The VM UpLift Programme which was launched in 2022 as a personal development programme is an expansion of VM’s under-13 football competition and builds on a solid partnership between the VM Group and the St James Football Association, which spans over 30 years. The competition will run for two months with schools divided into four zones and end on June 6, with a closing ceremony. All matches will be played at Wespow Park in Montego Bay, St. James.
Gregory Daley, President of the St James Football Association said: “We’re pleased to be collaborating once again with the VM Foundation for this football competition and we’re very energised about the transferable skills that students and coaches will learn on and off the field as part of the UpLift Programme.”
This year, split sessions will be hosted for the student-athletes and then the coaches and teachers, and will cover topics including the principles of saving, goal setting, effective communication, and problem-solving skills, and will be led by experts in the field.
Corinaldi Avenue Primary School won last year’s competition and kicked off this year’s season with a match against Glendevon Primary on April 11.
