KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) is considering another tweak in the structure of the upcoming schoolboy football season, with plans that would see last season’s seeded teams receive automatic passage to the second round of the Walker Cup and Ben Francis Cup.

Under the proposed format, the Walker Cup, Ben Francis Cup and the all-island Champions Cup would all be completed before the start of the Manning Cup and DaCosta Cup competitions.

Observer Online has learnt that discussions are ongoing to introduce a preliminary competition for the lesser or minnow teams, like a two-tier structure competition, playing before the big guns join them in the second round.

The teams would compete in groups of five or six, with the top two from each group advancing to the next round, where the top-seeded teams would join them in a knockout for the Walker and Ben Francis Cup titles.

So, in essence, the Walker Cup and Ben Francis Cup formations have been changed to accommodate the best teams once again.

The Walker Cup and Ben Francis Cup formats were controversially changed in 2018 from the old format of the top eight teams contesting them to teams that have dropped out of the Manning and DaCosta Cup competitions early, or what was considered a “Consolation Cup”.