Manchester High

This groundbreaking tournament, set to take place under the patronage of Mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, promises an exhilarating day of competition and community spirit, beginning with an exciting “kickoff” ceremony led by the Mayor.

The evening's highlight features electrifying matches between St. Catherine High, Rusea's High, William Knibb High, Cornwall College, Manchester High, and Irwin High Schools. Each team is prepared to showcase their best in this specially curated tournament, with the winning school set to pocket a grand prize of JMD$500,000.

Dr. Dean Weatherly, Head coach of Irwin High School, welcomed the initiative, which aims to revitalize interest in schoolboy football across Jamaica, broaden its fan base, and attract investment from football governing bodies and corporate entities into grassroots football development.

“The 45 Minutes tournament is a great concept and is one where we can see the other talents that exist in Western Jamaica as well as to see where we are in our training sessions. As far as the tournament goes, it is one that people need to come out and watch as they’ll be seeing some great young minds at work and talent on the field,” Weatherly declared.

St. Catherine High’s Anthony Patrick echoed similar sentiments.

“It's a welcomed opportunity, one we are looking forward to, and one that will benefit our players immensely, especially the youngsters we want to showcase this schoolboy season, ones who will be graduating this year. The 45-minute format is crucial—winning in the first half is always crucial so this concept encourages a different type of sportsmanship, we'll be putting our best foot forward to make an impact and allow the young talent to shine,” Patrick shared.

For Mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, the sport presents limitless opportunities for community and individual development in Jamaica, particularly in the Western part of the island.

“The sport has experienced a significant decline in Western Jamaica in recent years, evidenced by the success of teams at the national and schoolboy levels. Therefore, all support is needed to revitalize the discipline and provide an outlet for youngsters to be meaningfully engaged,” the Mayor said.

“It also provides unique advantages for sports tourism in western Jamaica, with Montego Bay being among the top destinations globally. As such, I'm vested to reimagine and rebuild Western football by playing a key role,” he added.

Meanwhile, Erin Mitchell of sponsors Wisynco, pointed out that lending support to the initiative was a no-brainer.

“Schoolboy Football is a crucial pillar for many of our brands, and we are proud to support this initiative in the west, reinforcing our commitment to schoolboy football in Jamaica,” Mitchell noted.

Pre-sold tickets are $1,000 and $2,500 for Bleachers and Grandstand, while tickets at the gate, are $1,500 and $3,000. Pre-sold tickets are available at Western Sports,

Goals from Worrell Nelson in the 2^nd minute, Beeko Smythe in the 21^st minute, and Tadane Williams in the 63^rd minute propelled them to a 3-1 win over former champions, St. Georges College, in the first match of a doubleheader at Stadium East.

Lamonth Rochester got the goal for St. Georges College in the 11^th minute.

Kingston Technical head coach, Shaun Charlton, pointed to his team’s discipline as a reason they were able to get the job done.

“We have discipline within the team and persons who want to show Jamaica, and by extension abroad, that there is talent in the inner city,” he said.

The second game of the doubleheader saw Kingston High beat Calabar 1-0 to register their first win of the season.

Bridgeport beat Charlie Smith 1-0 in the other group game at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

Kingston Technical remains on top of the group with nine points followed by Charlie Smith in second with six and St. Georges College in third, also with six.

Meanwhile, in zone B Dacosta Cup action, a doubleheader at Llandilo saw one goal being scored between four teams.

Green Pond and Petersfield played out a 0-0 draw in the first encounter while the second game saw Godfrey Stewart secure a 1-0 over former champions, Rusea’s.

Frome Technical beat Green Island 4-0 in the 3:30 kick-off at Wespow Park.

Frome now moves to the top of the zone with nine points followed by Mannings in second with seven and Petersfield in third, also with seven points.

In zone D, Bellefield thrashed Alston 7-0 and Manchester beat Belair 2-0 in a doubleheader at Manchester.

In the other zone D game, Christiana secured a 2-1 win over Holmwood at Kirkvine.

Christiana still leads zone D with 10 points. Manchester and Bellefield are second and third with seven and five points respectively.

In Zone F, Garvey Maceo maintained their perfect record in the group stage so far with a 3-0 win over Central High at home.

The second game of the day at Garvey Maceo saw Vere Technical get a 2-1 win over Foga Road.

Garvey Maceo leads zone F with 12 points and Vere are second with seven.

McGrath beat York Castle 4-1 in the first game of a zone H doubleheader at Drax Hall.

Charlemont got a 5-2 win over St. Mary High in the second game.

With the win, Charlemont move to the top of the zone with eight points while Dinthill sits second on seven and Ocho Rios are third on five.