SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Today, friends and family will honour the memory of footballer Cecil “Silla” Pringle with the second staging of an event that was itself born out of tremendous grief: the Hopeton Kelly Memorial Football Tournament. The match will be held at Manning’s School.

Pringle, who died suddenly in March 2024, will always be remembered as the player who scored the winning goals for Manning’s School’s Under-14 Elron Cup team in 1978. That was a bittersweet victory because of the shocking death, 14 days earlier, of team member Hopeton Kelly.

The Manning’s School’s Under-14 football team was travelling to Munro College to play the final match of the Elron Cup when tragedy struck. Kelly and his team mates were playing on the bus, hanging their heads out the windows, when the bus suddenly swerved and Kelly’s head struck a light post.

He died in hospital two days later. The Elron Cup finals were postponed for two weeks, resuming after Kelly was laid to rest. The Manning’s team fought through sweat and tears and came out victorious, winning the Elron Cup in Kelly’s honour.

Counselling was not common in those days and some team members held onto their grief for years.

“We had to drive past the same spot where the accident happened. There was a lot of crying. The usual chatter and laughter were absent from this trip. It was a very sad situation for all of us,” recalled Brian Young.

“Myself and Dwight Coote witnessed every detail of the accident. We have carried that burden for years. [Kelly] was only 13 years old. We made the decision to play. We played in honour of him. We were still mourning when we played. But we fought hard to win to honour him the best way,” Young added.

In some way, grieving Pringle’s death and honouring both men’s memories has helped them heal.

“We have always been called upon, as alumni, to support the school,” the tournament’s founding member Brian “Dodger” told the Jamaica Observer.

He played alongside Pringle and Kelly on the Under-14 team.

“We came up with this fund-raiser — myself and Gabby [Dwight Coote] decided to continue Kelly’s legacy and host a memorial football match in his honour. This was the only therapy we received from such a traumatic incident [Kelly’s death], so many years later,” he added.

In 2023, the first staging of the event saw two main games showcasing the Manning’s School daCosta Cup team versus another Jamaica College (Year 1). However, many came out to see the feature game, the Former Reggae Boyz Invitational versus the 1978 Elron Cup Champions — most of whom were over the age of 60.

This year, the Former Reggae Boyz Invitational versus the 1987 Elron Cup Champions returns as the feature game at 4:00 pm. There will also be a game between the Jamaica Fire Brigade and the Jamaica Constabulary Force at 1:00 pm and one where Manning’s School football team will face off against Frome Technical football team at 2:00 pm.

All proceeds are donated to fund a Manning’s School project.

Hopeton Kelly’s mother Hyacinth and her son Keith (left) accept a plaque in Hopeton’s honour from Cecil “Silla” Pringle during the inaugural Hopeton Kelly Memorial in 2023.

A newspaper clipping of the Manning’s School Under-14 Elron Cup Champions who, despite losing a teammate to a tragic accident on their way to the finals, came out victorious and won the 1978 Elron Cup title.