PRESIDENT of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Keith Wellington believes that introducing football at a young age can increase females’ interest and participation in the sport.

While playing football in high school is considered the foundation, Wellington believes that players who are exposed to the game at a young age can help the sport to grow.

“It is the foundation. We noticed that in the primary school competition, especially at the INSPORTS level, it is mandatory that girls be a part of the primary school teams, which I think will help the high school competition.

“We will have girls coming into high school who have already been in competitive football, and we think that over the next few years we will have more girls — and better-quality girls — being involved at the high school level,” Wellington told the Jamaica Observer.

Wellington thinks that if girls begin playing football at the ages of four and five, the sport will flourish in the country in the long term.

“If you look at what happens to our neighbours in North America — the United States and Canada in particular — girls start playing football as early as four, five years old, and it is a family event so parents are close to them.

“They come out with them, they take them to games, they take them to training, and I think we need to do that. Even if you look at what happens in Jamaica with track and field where the youngsters start running competitively right now at the basic school level, we need to do that with all of our sports. Particularly talking about girls’ football now, that is what our neighbors have done to be as good as they are so we need to emulate them,” Wellington explained.

Wellington — who was present to see Excelsior High retain the ISSA Jamaica /TIP Friendly Society School Girls Football Competition Championship after defeating Holmwood Technical in the final at Stadium East on Monday, April 24, 2023 — expressed satisfaction with the growth of the competition.

“I thought it was a good comeback for girls’ football. I mean, last year we had like 14 or 15 teams participate and this year we have close to 50 teams. I would have loved to see the quality a little bit better but, obviously, with what transpired over the last two years with COVID it meant that we did not have the girls getting the opportunity to participate in football.

“And, you know, for girls it is a little bit more challenging for them to be out in their communities playing, especially when there is a lockdown and there is a risk; boys are going to take more risks and are involved in the sport. But, I am really happy to see so many girls in the competition this year,” he said.