Jamaica College (JC) have been booted from the Walker Cup for fielding an ineligible player, bringing their championship hopes crashing down just days before a highly anticipated final showdown against rivals Kingston College (KC).

The development comes following the revelation that JC star Jamone Lyle signed a professional contract with Waterhouse Football Club, making him ineligible for schoolboy football under Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) regulations.

Waterhouse, in a disciplinary letter dated October 9, said it had fined Lyle $60,000 for unauthorised participation in a Manning Cup match on October 7. The club alleged that Lyle ignored instructions from head coach Donovan Duckie and General Secretary Richard McCallum not to take the field for JC, in breach of his professional contract and the club’s rules.

The decision to disqualify JC from the Walker Cup was made at an ISSA emergency meeting on Tuesday, and means that KC will now face Mona High in the final set for Friday. Mona had lost to JC in the semi-final via a penalty shootout.

It remains unclear whether JC will face sanctions related to other schoolboy football competitions including the Manning Cup.