President of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Keith Wellington believes that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) needs to provide more football for the boys who participate in the various football competitions run by his organisation.

Speaking at a special ceremony hosted by the JFF earlier this week to acknowledge ISSA and their coaches for the work done to return schoolboy football after the pandemic, Wellington spoke of how it is that his organisation was able to get things back on track as seamlessly as they did after the long layoff.

“For us at ISSA we are volunteers, we have our 9-5, 12-12, our full-time jobs, but when the pandemic came in March, we were probably the ones who got the biggest hit immediately, because our major event, Champs, got cancelled less than two weeks before [it was supposed to be held].

“But we started to plan, which is very important in sports management, and we felt that it was important as principals who were elected to provide opportunities for our young people, that, should that opportunity present itself any at all, we wouldn't be the ones to not have the opportunity there for our student athletes,” he said.

Wellington bemoaned the fact that beyond schoolboy football there was very little else for most of the boys to play, for most of the year.

“While we would have gotten through the schoolboy football season, at least for the seniors, I think there is a lot to be done. Many of them started playing back after two years, but for me one of the disappointments… is that schoolboy football came to an end for most of them in December, for some in January and they are still waiting around to play again.

“It is a problem that we have, not just because of the pandemic, but also in terms of how our football programmes are structured,” he said.

“Our youngsters play 20 games for the year and unless they are really, really serious footballers, who get into a club, they don't play any more football for the year,” the ISSA boss added.

Citing St Elizabeth from where he hails, Wellington gave an example of the lack of game time afforded to most boys during their high school career.

“If you are in a place like St Elizabeth, you will end up at 19 playing maybe 60 or 70 games for your entire life up to 19 and still hope to get a scholarship, still hope to play professional football. You won't succeed like that,” he reasoned.

He also pointed to the fact that the development of the sport on the island does not fall within the remit of ISSA, but on the shoulders of the sports governing body in Jamaica, which is the JFF.

“We at ISSA believe that development is not really our responsibility, but we understand that we have a part to play by ensuring that there is a competitive opportunity for them. There is so much that we can do, but no more,” he stressed.

“We have 3,000 of them playing, but from a JFF level, you should be concerned about the 200 or so who will make it to the other level and what is it that you are going to provide for them to be doing January, February, March, April, May, while they wait around for the next season to start,” Wellington continued.

He revealed that the 2022-2023 season would return to the normal schedule in the first semester of the school year, despite a call in some areas to stick with the 2021-2022 schedule.

“Persons say why not extend the schoolboy football season into January, you did it this year, so next year people expect you to play in January and February. But the impact of the school system and on the footballer as a student is not working for us,” he explained.

The winning schools and their coaches all received plaques from the JFF in recognition of their success in the 2021-2022 season.

— Dwayne Richards