MONTEGO BAY, St James — The annual all-star game between the two senior schoolboy competitions run by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) — the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup competitions — could make a return this season, the Jamaica Observer has learnt.

George Forbes, Competitions Secretary at ISSA, said they will be meeting with sponsors today before making a final decision on the All-Manning vs All-daCosta game that was a fixture on the schoolboy football calendar for years.

Forbes said with the decision to play just one game in the Olivier Shield competition, it could open up some space for playing of the game that will be alternated between the urban and rural areas each season.

For years, the All-Manning vs All-daCosta game was the traditional season ender until it was discontinued sometime ago.

Meanwhile, Forbes also disclosed that in addition to three games that will be played at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on September 6 to officially kick off the competition, there will be full schedules in both the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup competitions that day.

Manning and Olivier Shield champions Jamaica College will open their season against Jonathan Grant High, while daCosta Cup champions St Elizabeth Technical and BB Coke will meet in the second game. A third game will see Montego Bay rivals St James High and Green Pond High meeting.

“With all the new innovations we have planned for this season, we don’t have the luxury of time,” Forbes said, “We have to take advantage of all the playing dates that we can.”

One of the new innovations will be the Super Cup that will include the top eight teams in both the Manning and daCosta Cup competitions that will take up to three weeks to be completed.

The staging of the Super Cup will see the reduction of the teams in the Ben Francis Knockout to four, the daCosta Cup semi-finalists, from the 16 that took part last season.

— Paul Reid