Leighton Levy, Star Writer

Retired Reggae Boy Ricardo Gardner has heaped praises upon LIME's Street Football Challenge that was launched yesterday in Mandela Park Half-Way Tree, saying it will help expose hidden Jamaican football talent.

The competition, which kicks off on March 22, will see 240 four-a-side football teams battle for a grand prize of a million dollars.

Gardner, who represented Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France as a 17-year-old, and has now become an icon in local football, believes that, in addition to the prize money, the competition, which runs from March until May, could be the break some talented players need.

"You can discover many talents from here. There is a lot of talent in Jamaican communities that doesn't get exposure, and this is the right opportunity to come and display that talent," said the former Bolton Wanderer, who is the chief endorser of the competition.

Communities across the island are being encouraged to register eight-member teams, as a total of 16 teams will be allowed from each parish. Male and female players are invited to participate. Each side will be allowed one professional player and the team members must be able to travel outside of Jamaica, as the winning team will represent Jamaica at the Guinness Street Football Challenge set for Trinidad in June.

"This is a perfect opportunity that LIME has created for the next 10 to 11 weeks. There are competitions across the island and these players don't get the opportunity to be a part of it. So this is something for them to look forward to," Gardner said. "And for the community, this is an opportunity to bring something joyful to communities.

LIME Vice-president of Marketing Carlo Redwood also supported the view that the competition could unearth hidden talent. "We are always about developing sports through the different events that we sponsor. So we thought that this was another opportunity to unearth talent, to bring talent visibly through television, through radio coverage, to expose this talent. It certainly is an opportunity for that unknown footballer to be recognised, whether by a professional major league team or even more than that. Certainly, in a World Cup year, it doesn't hurt doing it."

Each week, LIME will announce sign-up locations for each parish. A random draw of teams for each parish will be conducted at a location to be announced, and the selected teams contacted.