PowerGen’s Investment in Sport is Paying Dividends
Leg spinner Samuel Badree has a knack for knocking over important wickets in big tournaments. At the ICC World T20 final in April this year, Badree tumbled two of the biggest English threats, setting the West Indies on their way to an improbable title. The 35-year-old bowler with the receding hairline and the big game instincts had burnished his reputation with a memorable outing. He could return to his other life, as assistant coach of PowerGen Penal Sports Club.
Badree might well be the perfect example of a sportsman whose career has been positively influenced by corporate sponsorship. Playing for Naparima College in his teens, PowerGen was there, just starting out on its twenty year sponsorship of the Secondary Schools Cricket League. Then from the age of 16, he played for PowerGen Penal Sports Club. Now he’s back—assistant coach of his former club for the past three years.
Youth development is the theme of PowerGen’s CSR. While it may be gratifying for the company to claim a small role in the creation of international stars, there’s equal satisfaction in knowing that thousands of unheralded young men and women have enjoyed countless hours of honest competition because PowerGen funds paid for their equipment or got them a coach.
Francois Ottley, the power generation company’s liaison with the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) for the past six years, says the business has stuck with cricket sponsorship because the developmental path from youth to senior cricket is so clear. Trained technical people are spotting talent and guiding it through. For some, graduation means the end of their playing days. Others go on to the bright lights.
This year’s Boys’ Twenty20 Intercol final between Barrackpore West Secondary and Carapichaima East Secondary drew a big crowd and was broadcast on TV and radio. Sport media hyped the matchup of two teams that had met in a close final two years before. “You get to see stars before they become stars,” says Ottley of the intense interest in secondary school playoff competition. “And when they become big, you can say, ‘I knew this man when he was playing in school.’”
PowerGen’s theme for its 20th anniversary of supporting the Secondary Schools Cricket League is ‘The Power of 20’. The company says, despite the closure of its Port of Spain power plant and a reduced power purchase agreement from T&TEC, it intends to maintain its year-to-year commitment for the upcoming season at least. “We’re actually proud to boast that we did not reduce or eliminate sponsorship,” says Ottley. “It’s something we’re particularly proud of so we fight very hard to keep it going.”
In Penal, PowerGen civil technician Chaitram Ramjitsingh is earnestly hoping for continued sponsorship of the PowerGen Penal Sports Club. As club president, he knows how crucial the company’s support has been to developing sport in the catchment surrounding the Penal power facility.
“We depend on PowerGen to make things happen,” says Ramjitsingh flatly. Thanks to PowerGen, the club is one of only two in the country with an indoor nets facility, a boon to players of all ages when the weather is uncooperative.
The PowerGen-sponsored Youth Development Camp, held around Easter for the past 20 years, gives 75 to 100 players exposure to coaching and practice games, with motivational speaking and lessons thrown in when the budget has allowed. From the camp, a range of age group teams are chosen. Many players have gone on to represent Trinidad and Tobago at Under-19 and senior levels.
As with any CSR initiative, PowerGen expects accountability for its funding. SSCL is expected to produce annual financial reports for audit, and the league’s accounting officers (mostly secondary school teachers who administer everything from player homework classes to equipment purchases) have twice been sent on financial training courses for NGOs.
“They work fairly well,” says Ottley of the league’s accountants, “but if you expect a standard of someone, you have to expose them to what is expected.” The sponsor is also working on a procurement structure for league implementation.
After two decades, PowerGen wants to know more about the impact of its CSR. For the first time, a survey will be handed out to players and emailed to coaches and administrators. The feedback will help improve administration by providing data that hasn’t been gathered before: the number of students participating, the ratio of boys to girls at the larger schools, and whether funding was sufficient to meet the league’s needs. “Saying it’s a good thing, how far will that really go if I have to justify at an executive level or a board level?” asks Ottley. “I want to be able to give you metrics and figures. It makes for a stronger case if you’re having financial difficulty.”
Secondary schools cricket remains the feeder for the semi-professional clubs. Ottley says players at that stage are “very much aware” of their potential and their possible trajectories. The best go on to impress at the highest level. And some even end up right back where they started.