00:00In 2025, several upcoming artists like Anika Barriant Crystal featured on the ultimate soccer champion stage
00:08and are now making their mark on the carnival stage.
00:12From the data that we have, the show was viewed between social media and television broadcast
00:18over a million views on the different episodes that we would have put out throughout the season.
00:24So we know the successes, we know the eyes that it draws and we know the need for it.
00:28That is something that is needed in the space, in the carnival landscape,
00:32in terms of developing the artists, in terms of developing soccer music as a whole.
00:37We saw the success that we had last year with the ultimate soccer champion.
00:42We saw that graduating class of the young artists who were there.
00:46We saw the successes that they are seeing this year.
00:49We're seeing Sucre, who is the lead singer for the Evolution Band.
00:53We also saw successes from Paris Coutain, who would have made the final in the youth soccer champion category.
01:00And now he has a collaboration with Marshall Montano as a result.
01:04However, founder Jerome Persia laments that other emerging artists will not have the opportunity in 2026 due to a lack of funding.
01:14We would have reached out to the Minister of Culture and Community Development and to the NCC requesting meetings.
01:22We knew the economic climate wasn't the same and we offered to work with them in terms of our new budget
01:28and working with whatever they could afford to help to keep the project alive based on the successes that we would have had last year.
01:36But up until today, we still haven't heard anything from them and time is getting nearer.
01:42So in order for us to put on a proper product of the standard that we had last year,
01:47we decided that we would not do it this year in the hope that next year we could get that support from the ministry,
01:53from the NCC to put on the project again.
01:56Organizers received $5 million for the staging of the event last year, of which $3 million went to prizes.
02:04Precious says he's hopeful the government will see the value of the platform and the art form.
02:11We are reiterating that we are willing to work with them in terms of adjusting budgets
02:15just to make sure that we have the platform available for the artists to develop themselves.
02:21Another big aspect of Ultimate Soaker Champion that was different from previous competitions
02:25is that we had something called Soaker School, which we were using to develop the artists holistically.
02:32So it wasn't only about just them going and singing on a stage, but we were teaching them financial literacy.
02:38We were teaching them vocal training, performance training, how to manage.
02:42We were even training their managers how to manage the artists, how to carry about themselves,
02:46how to put things in place for their future so that when the artists do fall into illness later on in life or retirement,
02:53they don't have to be going out to have a fundraiser to raise funds for that.
02:56So we were helping to develop them holistically.
02:59So this is something not only just a go and jump up on a stage,
03:02it is us developing the artists and developing Soaker music to be able to export this globally.
03:09Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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