Projects

Project Name: St. James, Jamaica

*This footage was recorded 2019/20, prior to the pandemic

The Need

The football facilities that are currently available to the residents of this parish are not safe, suitable or accessible.

Many residents play on concrete, which has regular traffic passing through. This surface is too hard for regular sport and can cause long-term damage to the muscles and joints and increases the risk of serious injury.

Others are playing on the single pitch that is available for public use. This pitch is overused, not managed or well maintained, resulting in many teams not being able to play. Often there is a lot of waste built up, affecting the health and safety of those using it. This pitch has poor goals, little markings and because it is severely over-used, it barely has grass.

There is a need for:

A facility that provides a pitch and all the required equipment, such as balls, goals, nets, bibs and more.
Good organisation that creates availability of the facility, inclusion and coaching for all.
A floodlit facility that enables the community to get involved and to play sports in the cooler temperatures of the evenings. Daylight is often lost by 6pm.

The Location

The community of Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica have given The HummingBirds the opportunity to develop some land. This land had been used by locals to play football on, but due to the lack of care, it has become overgrown and is no longer suitable, removing one of the very few options in the parish.

The location of this land is ideal. It is at the heart of the large community of Montego Bay, and has more than 20 primary schools and 15 secondary schools within a 5-mile radius. It is easy to access with good roads leading to and from it, with numerous housing estates of different social standings only a few minutes away.

About the Project

Football is the biggest sport in the world and Jamaica is no different. The new facility will transform the current standard and be available for schools and colleges to make good use of. This will be a facility that is available for every member of the community.

The aim of this project is to lay a FIFA approved artificial football pitch. It is to be floodlit using solar energy, fenced and gated, with male and female toilets and changing facilities. The artificial turf is designed to deal with the heat, rain and continuous usage. Management will take care of bookings and make sure that the facility is cared for and well maintained.

The new pitch will host countless local games, tournaments, camps and coaching sessions of different sizes and for different ages and abilities. Many of the nearby schools in the area will use the facility for training and games. The pitch will be arranged at times to hold small-sided games, increasing the number of people taking part and giving every willing member of the community an opportunity to use the facility.

Once The HummingBirds have raised the much-needed funds, the building work will take approximately 3 months to complete.

How Lives will be Changed

The opening of this sustainable facility will affect individual lives and the spirit of the entire community.

The new artificial football pitch will encourage the formation of new teams, bringing groups of people together for games, tournaments, friendlies and more. This will further develop a sense of community as more residents interact with one another in a positive way.

The children who finish school in the very early afternoon will have somewhere to go together, rather than being on the streets. The workers who finish when its dark and miss out on the sunlight will still have an opportunity to participate in sport. It will provide the community with another activity and another reason to socialise. It will be another topic of conversation, making more residents want to get involved.

The minimum size of a completed pitch will be 1,472m2 and we need your help to raise the money for every square.

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