Fortune favours the elite

Western Bureau:

The 2017 ISSA/Flow SBF daCosta Cup seeding chart has once more come under harsh criticism following the revelation of matchups for the second round. The numbers prove that the seeding chart was designed to favour elite teams in the competition.

The current seeding list does not reflect the true nature of the first-round performances. There are teams that won all their first-round matches which were seeded lower than teams that drew or lost their first-round fixtures.

The seeding chart allocated added points to teams based on last year's performance and also to the winner of the zones with teams that had a recent history of supremacy. It was deemed unfair to teams who were outstanding this season but didn't make it even to the quarter-finals last year nor had a history of outstanding performances.

The organisers of schoolboy football are trying to promote a product that is exciting to watch at the expense of current form. Linvern Wright, chairman of daCosta Cup, told STAR Sports that the seeding round also would favour prominent teams to go all the way in the competition after a dry run was done in the process of its implementation.

He explained that they took into consideration teams that have been outstanding in the competition in recent times.

This is normal for seeding processes globally where the more elite teams would get the preference.

Viewers think this shouldn't apply to schoolboy football because the structure school system means teams will change every year. That's why it is proposed that the allocation of seeding points only factor current form, and if necessary, previous year's performance and not recent history.