Inaugural John Brandon Murray Cup kicks off Saturday

Juici Field will come alive in Clarendon this Sunday with quality football when last year’s losing Manning Cup finalists, St George’s College, and daCosta Cup hopefuls Munro College meet in the inaugural staging of the John Brandon Murray Cup competition. Admission to the 3 p.m. game will cost $500.00.

Murray, co-founder of Sporting Central Academy and former representative of Munro College and St George’s College in the daCosta and Manning Cup competition’s, respectively, was murdered last June. His brother Courtney, also a former footballer and businessman, is the driving force behind this initiative.

“This is a fitting way to keep his memory and work alive. He attended and played football for both schools, and this area is like the midway point between both of them, so it fits perfectly,” said the younger Murray, who was a standout for Munro College and a youth representative for Jamaica.

The fact that the Juici Field is a stone’s throw away from the house in which the Murrays grew up also adds to the suitability of the venue.

MORE THAN A FOOTBALL MAN

“My brother was more than just a football man. He loved people, people from all walks of life, and took pleasure in seeing people make the best of themselves, which was tied into his spiritual side. To remain true to him, we intend to use the funds generated from this for charity by dividing it equally between both schools for their football programmes.

“While we are still working out the finer details of this, the schools could decide to offer a John Brandon Murray Scholarship to a player from each team,” Murray added.

Both Munro College and St George’s College have given their full support, and so far, Locker Room Sports and Wisynco have come on board as sponsors, said Murray.

For Munro College’s Jackie Walters, the match serves two purposes.

“First and foremost, it is recognition of the contribution that he (John Brandon Murray) made to football not only at the schools but to the parish as well,” said the Munro College coach.

He added: “In terms of our preparations, it gives us an opportunity to further assess our readiness for the season, and we welcome the opportunity and intend to make it an exciting affair.”

Neville Bell of St George’s College was equally excited.

“For us, it is an honour to be a part of this venture to honour someone who has given so much to the sport and who wore the colours of both schools,” Bell said.

National senior player Je-Vaughn Watson, and national youth players Leaughn Williams and Kadian Wynter are among the players who have come out of Sporting Central Academy.