Scotiabank once again dominated the Western Sports-sponsored Norman Goodison Inter-bank football competition and duly walked away with the major awards on presentation night at the Scotiabank Sports Club, last Thursday, to be declared Triple Champions of the year.

The competition, which kicked off at the National Water Commission playing field in Mona on September 11 with a Dress Parade and a Five-A-Side one-day football rally with seven companies competing, ended on November 21 with NCB and Sagicor meeting in the JamClear Final.

Playing sumptious football to cap another very successful season, Scotiabank raked in the Dress Parade with Bank Of Jamaica as the runners-up; the Five-A-Side Competition with Sagicor as the runners-up; the League title with Sagicor as the runners-up, and the Champion of Champions Cup with NCB as the runners-up.

The JamClear Cup was the only title to escape the grasp of Scotiabank and this went to NCB with Sagicor as the runners-up.

Despite not winning a top award, Sagicor were the most consistent performers in the competition and secured three second-placed finishes in the four major trophies on offer.

Former Jamaican international Kevin Lamey, representing Scotiabank, walked away with two major individual trophies to crown a successful season — the Most Valuable Player in the Five-A-Side Competition and the leading goalscorer in the league with six goals.

In the Five-A-Side Competition individual category, Andre Powell was the Most Valuable Player.

In the league competition, Damion Crooks and Stefan Barclay walked away with the leading goalkeeper and Most Valuable Player, respectively, while Damion Walker took the Most Valuable Player Award for winners NCB.

In other awards, referees Wilverglen Lamey, Clive Dixon and Camilo Gilroy, who officiated in the final, received awards. Andrew Sewell and Marcel Gayle of Scotiabank shared the award for Coach of the Year, while Diana Palock, also of Scotiabank, copped the Manager of the Year title.

Interbank Football Association President Livinston Morrison, who was quite pleased with the performances of the teams thoughout the campaign, reserved a special welcome to the Triple Champions Scotiabank, and the JamClear Champions National Commercial Bank.

“As we welcome and congratulate our champions, we extend welcome to the finalists and other particpating teams who contributed to making he 2016 Inter-bank season a memorable experience for players and spectators alike.

“As administrators we are very pleased with the value that we provide as an organisation. We are satisfied that interbank football ranks among the best in terms of the low cost and high visibility that we provide to our sponsors.

“I am particularly pleased that we have been able to continue to offer the JamClear Cup that was introduced in 2014. As we all know, JamClear, which is owned and operated by the Bank of Jamaica, is the brand name for Jamaica’s payment and settlement infrastructure. With JamClear Jamaica ranks among the leading countries across the world — countries that support economic growth initiatives with payment systems that meet the highest standards of safety and security. I should let you know that between January and October 2016 a total of 415,000 transactions, valued at $15.5 trillion were settled in real time using JamClear RTGS,” Morrison related.

Sticking much closer to the game of football, President Morrison drew attention to a level of indiscipline that is exercised among players who at times shirk their responsibity to represent their particular institutions on match days.

Morrison recalled that he first participated in the Inter-Bank Football League almost 35 years ago, saying: “The League gave me my first opportunity to reprsent the central bank on the field of play, but by extention, after 35 years, I continue to represent the bank all over the world. I, therefore, consider myself duty bound to use this opportunity to remind all the young men who play in the inter-bank competitions that you are ambassadors of your respective institutions.”