Youth Football League heads to central Jamaica
Published:Saturday | October 14, 2023 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
Following two breathtaking weekends of football in the ongoing 2023 Youth Football League, the age-group football tournament will now shift to a new location not only for this season, but since its inception as action moves to Brooks Park in Manchester with action set to kick off at 8 a.m.
In the opening week, Emmanuel Christian Academy took the urban title as they clipped rivals Sts Peter and Paul 2-1 in the final. On the day Emmanuel Christian Academy had a flawless route which saw them winning 4-0 over Stella Maris, 4-3 over Spanish Town whom they met again in the semifinal and got by 5-4 on penalties.
Action then went to the western side of the country in last week’s second week as Howard Cooke Primary took the honours there on the back of a 4-3 shock victory over defending champions Corinaldi Primary. This followed a 2-1 win over Flankers Primary and a 0-0 draw with Barracks Road Primary in earlier matches.
Paula Pinnock, managing director at the FYI Consultancy Group, the organisers of the tournament, stated that the first two weeks of football have gone well and anticipated the same today.
“It’s been extremely competitive as the schools that have gone through from Kingston and Montego Bay certainly deserved their places as they dominated their individual zones and you can see the level of coaching that has taken place.
“We had an upset in Montego Bay with Howard Cooke beating the defending rural champions and a stellar school in Corinaldi who have always been dominant, so that speaks to progress,” she stated.
As the competition shifts to central Jamaica for the first time, Pinnock explained that there’s an air of excitement for the day’s activities.
“I’m personally very excited, more so because central Jamaica reached out to us. They wanted to showcase their football and the programmes that they had and the work that has been going on and we made it happen for them. I’m very excited about Brooks Park as a football venue and we would love to see more competitions beyond the Junior Cup being held there,” Pinnock said.
The 2023 Youth Football League is sponsored by Funland Jamaica, WATA, Tru-Shake, Powerade, Sports Development Foundation, The Gleaner Company (Media) Ltd, and Locker Room Sports.