KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s Minister of Tradition, Gender, Leisure, and Sport, Olivia Grange, is about to interact key stakeholders to determine a nationwide technique for athlete help and retention.
She disclosed this throughout her 2025/26 Sectoral Debate presentation within the Home of Representatives on Tuesday.
The initiative follows current selections by 4 Jamaican athletes to modify nationwide allegiances, with some now set to symbolize Türkiye at worldwide occasions, together with the 2028 Olympic Video games.
“We are going to take a look at how we will increase partnerships with the non-public sector to offer monetary incentives and sponsorship alternatives and improve coaching and restoration infrastructure to fulfill worldwide requirements,” Grange stated.
The minister identified that the worldwide sporting panorama had shifted, with international locations resembling Qatar, Bahrain, and Türkiye attracting expertise from nations like Kenya and Ethiopia by providing monetary stability, improved sources, and long-term safety.
“Jamaica isn’t immune to those world shifts. Curiously, there are prime athletes whose sponsorship contracts dictate their stage of nationwide involvement as soon as they signal.
“Athletes, like professionals in any discipline, should weigh their alternatives, sources, and long-term viability. This isn’t to say we’re comfy shedding our expertise; fairly the other,” Grange stated.
Grange stated these developments “ought to function a clarion name to strengthen our nationwide athlete help programs, not simply on the elite stage however by way of grassroots and transition packages, that they safe their careers earlier than, throughout and after the competitors, and we’re on that path.”
The minister stated focus can even be positioned on providing profession transition companies for athletes past competitors, long-term profession planning, expanded monetary and well being protection in collaboration with the non-public sector, and enhanced nationwide illustration incentives – notably for high-performance athletes.
Grange additionally revealed that the federal government was additionally seeking to strengthen partnerships with sporting federations to help holistic athlete growth from grassroots to elite ranges.
The minister stated native firms had been stepping as much as help prime athletes, highlighting triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts, who not too long ago turned the model ambassador for Dolla Monetary Providers.
“Shanieka Ricketts has indicated that regardless of requests from different international locations, she is decided to stay a Jamaican athlete. She selected Jamaica.
“This has supplied a possibility for native firm Dolla Monetary Providers to supply her sponsorship, and I need to commend it for doing that,” Grange stated.
“There are a number of different firms which can be sponsoring different athletes, and we thank these firms for working with our athletes, and we need to welcome extra firms, extra from the non-public sector, to come back on board and help our athletes.”
Grange defined that the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Affiliation (JAAA), which performs a pivotal position in nurturing and growing the nation’s athletes, isn’t a company entity with the authorized or monetary mandate to offer end-of-career help.
“That stated, lots of our completed athletes have discovered properties within the non-public and public sectors, from legislation enforcement to teaching, from company ambassadorships to entrepreneurship.
“We should acknowledge these examples as nationwide successes whereas additionally looking for to systematize such transitions to profit a wider group of retired athletes,” she said.
