ST D’Acre Football Club walked away with a cash prize of $60,000 along with two trophies and gold medals, after emerging champions in the 2012 Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners Community Football League.

The competition, which ran from July 1 to September 18, saw St D’Acre taking the top spot after defeating second-place winners Thicketts Football Club 8-0 on aggregate, winning the two-legged final 4-0 on each accounts.

Thirty-one teams and a total of 930 players entered the competition which was divided into two zones, Zone A (Mines division) and Zone B (Plant division). St D’Acre champions of the Mines division met Thicketts champions of the Plant division in the finals.

Constable Linton Waite, league director, reported that the league which was incident-free received huge support from the communities.

Speaking at the award ceremony, which was held at the Cardiff Hall Hotel and Spa in Runaway Bay, St Ann, Superintendent Dudley Scott, head of the St Ann Police, commended Noranda for staging the annual event which he said helped to keep the young men active and out of trouble with the law.

David Wong Ken, director of the Property and Legal Department of Noranda, said in spite of the economic downturn, Noranda still “supports education and sports”. He reported that Noranda presently sponsors six major sporting groups in the parish. This, he said, is done for the “fostering of positive relations”.

Former national coach and coach of Boys’ Town Football Club, Carl Brown, who was the guest speaker, encouraged the players to be different and to believe in themselves.

Players, coaches and referees were also awarded in various sectional prizes. Norwayne Morgan of St D’Acre was awarded the most valuable player for the Mines division, while Michael Jones of Thicketts was awarded MVP for the Plant division. All sectional prize winners were awarded cash.