SIX schools will face off on Saturday for a $1-million first prize in the first Montego Bay United (MBU) high school football preseason tournament to be held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St James.

The event, which is scheduled to start at 10:00 am and end at 10:00 pm, will see six high school football teams from western Jamaica taking part and will include a Jamaica Premier League preseason game between Montego Bay United and Portmore United.

The event was launched at a press conference at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Friday and MBU Academy Director Leacroft Lettman, who is arranging the event, says the idea is to help the teams with their preparation for the upcoming schoolboy football season.

Cornwall College, Herbert Morrison Technical, Frome Technical, St James High, Maldon High, and Irwin High will take part, and Lettman says the teams will be placed in their respective groups before the start of the tournament by publicly drawing pre-marked tokens from a hat.

The teams will play two 40-minute games each, using standard FIFA rules, with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals.

“All the games will be ‘must win’ competitions, with penalties to be used to break ties,” Lettman says. “This event is to get the teams ready, get them into competition mode, as well as to boost their coffers with the purse of a million dollars. This money will go a long way to helping any team for nutrition, gear, even accommodation and transportation.”

Lettman hopes that the addition of sponsors next year will allow for a larger prize, for more teams.

LETTMAN…this money will go a long way to helping any team for nutrition, gear, even accommodation and transportation (Photos: Paul Reid)