Wellington targeting normality for ISSA tourneys

Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) President Keith Wellington says that they are hoping for a return to pre-pandemic levels of participation in the upcoming schoolboy football season, as well as matches back at school grounds.

The 2021-22 campaign was played in centralised venues, in keeping with the COVID-19 restrictions that resulted in the Government granting approval in November. Three venues were used for the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, while several venues were used for the daCosta Cup competition.

Following the conclusion of the first season since the pandemic, Wellington said that they are looking towards having matches return to the fields of participating schools for next season, but is confident of this season's format, if necessary.

"We would want that to be the case come September," Wellington told STAR Sports. "But we have a model that we can lean on if the need arises."

Additionally, Wellington said that he anticipates the number of participating schools to increase for the next campaign, with schools returning to in-person learning, and having the chance to get a first-hand look at the measures enacted in the interest of player safety.

"Football is one of our most popular sports, and most schools want to ensure that their students are engaged. Having gone back to face-to-face [classes], I think that the schools will be putting preparations in place for the new school year," Wellington said.

This year's Manning Cup competition saw only 22 schools taking part, which was further reduced to 21 with the withdrawal of St Mary's College after two games. The figure was a decrease from the 2019 edition, which saw 45 schools participating. Over 50 schools participated in the daCosta Cup this year, which was lower than 2019's edition, which saw 79 schools competing.

While recognising the magnitude of the operation for this year, Wellington said last year's ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships provided the foundation to have schoolboy football return after its year-long hiatus.

"The satisfying thing is that we had competition right across the island," he said. "I think the protocols that we had in place helped us to not contribute to any spike that is taking place now."