Strict security!

Three Corporate Area venues have been selected by the Inter-Secondary Schools’ Sports Association (ISSA) to host matches in the preliminary round of the Manning Cup, while 16 venues have been chosen to stage games in the preliminary phase of the rural daCosta Cup.

However, no spectators will be allowed to attend any of these matches in the schoolboy football competitions.

This ruling numbers among COVID-19 approvals granted to ISSA by the Government for this year’s staging of the tournament.

In lieu of these stipulations, Keith Wellington, president of ISSA, is warning that security will be very tight at the venues, and persons who breach security will be prosecuted.

“We are hoping that it does not require us to have the whole army to keep people out because it is a no-spectator event, and so we don’t expect persons to be turning up at these venues,” said Wellington.

“If persons breach the security then they would be breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) and then it would be regarded as a criminal matter, and so the police and whoever is on hand will be responsible for dealing with these offenders,” he continued.

Twenty-two schools have been entered for the Manning Cup, which is contested by Corporate Area high schools and is set to get under way on November 12.

Manning Cup preliminary matches will be played at Stadium East playing field, Jamaica College High School, and Spanish Town Prison Oval in St Catherine.

Fifty-three teams are scheduled to compete in the daCosta Cup, which is played among rural high schools and is scheduled to kick off on November 13.

Venues for the daCosta Cup preliminaries are York Oval in St Thomas, Lynch Park in Portland, Drax Hall in St Ann, William Knibb High School in Trelawny, Erwin High and Green Pond High schools in St James, Hopewell Sports Complex in Hanover, Llandilo Sports Complex in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth Technical High School in Santa Cruz, Manchester High School in Mandeville and Kirkvine Oval in Manchester, and in Clarendon, at Clarendon College, Glenmuir High, Foga Road High, and Garvey Maceo High, and at Dinthill High School in St Catherine.

Wellington said these venues had been carefully selected and, therefore, they were confident that all protocols and guidelines would be enforced.

“We would have selected these venues because for the most part ,they are venues that we are accustomed to using, and more than half of these venues are operated by schools, and so we have confidence in the management around the venues,” he said.

“We will also be doing our part to ensure that all the safety and security protocols are enforced at all these venues,” Wellington added.

There will be double-headers at all the match venues across both competitions. Matches in the Manning Cup are scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m, while games in the daCosta Cup will begin at 1:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

robert.bailey@gleanerjm.com