Match fixing in schoolboy football?
Published:Thursday | November 7, 2024 | 12:10 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
I wondered aloud, as did the entire crowd at Llandilo in Savanna-la-Mar on Saturday afternoon, whether the top-of-the-table clash between Munro College and Frome Technical was fixed. I had watched Munro’s last five games and travelled far to see them, as they play a pretty offensive brand of football that had produced 10 goals in their last four games.
But I arrived to see Munro’s two best players on the bench, including ace striker Smith, who had scored seven of Munro’s last 10 goals.
I was excited to see Frome for the first time. I had heard lots about how exciting they were to watch.
When the game started, both teams fielded essentially what were their B teams. With less than 10 minutes gone in the game, the crowd became restless. There was zero intensity and the game had absolutely no sense of urgency. The talk among the crowd was that the game was fixed to make sure Clarendon College did not go through. Clarendon still had a mathematical chance of going through to the next round if they beat Cornwall, and Munro beat Frome. According to many avid fans, Munro apparently wanted no part of Lenny Hyde’s team in the next round, even though they had beaten Clarendon only a few days prior.
The 22 boys on the field passed the ball around for 90 minutes without any serious attempts on either goal, and notably turned the ball back if it ended up anywhere that they had any decent opportunity on goal. I watched this game along with a huge crowd, all of whom (and I literally mean all) came away talking about the fix. I am not making any claim here, but I do think ISSA (which depend on crowd support to finance its operations) should get a hold of this game film, analyse it seriously, and see what conclusion they come away with.
If indeed they come away with the same conclusion as the crowd at Llandilo, I do think both these coaches should be hauled into the ISSA president’s office and severely sanctioned.
In a time when so many high school graduates are choosing scamming as their first job, what would we really be teaching our youngsters if this game were indeed fixed? And how could any of these schools possibly teach these kids about integrity and fair play if they were indeed complicit in the outcome of this goalless draw, that looked to everyone in attendance like it was fixed?
How could ISSA continue to expect crowds to pay to see the product they are putting out, if patrons cannot be assured that they will see fair and competitive games between the schools we support?
School is not just about information; it is also about formation. Teachers and coaches are charged with moulding these young men into decent citizens ready to compete in the world of work and business. It would be a burning shame if these two schools really gave these kids their first lesson in scamming, collusion, and straight-out dishonesty.
SHAKEY WILLIAMS