ISSA president proud of U17 World Cup qualification

President of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Keith Wellington praised schoolboy footballers who were a part of the under 17 Reggae Boyz that qualified for the 2026 FIFA Men’s U17 World Cup.

The young Reggae Boyz booked their spot at the U17 World Cup after topping Group G with a perfect record of three wins at the final round qualifiers in Costa Rica.

Jamaica defeated Aruba and the Cayman Islands 3-0 and 12-0, respectively, before confirming their World Cup spot with a decisive 3-1 win over Canada in a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday.

INTEGRAL ROLE

Wellington was particularly pleased with the role schoolboy football competitions have played in developing a number of the players, saying ISSA football has been integral in all three of Jamaica’s U17 World Cup qualification campaigns, 1999, 2011 and now 2026.

“It’s something that we are proud of at ISSA,” Wellington said.

“We have qualified three U17 teams to the World Cup over the last 27 years, and for all three teams, the greater majority of the team were students who would have participated in our various competitions from under 14 up and this year is no different.”

DIFFERENT GOALSCORERS

Jamaica’s 18-goal tally came from seven different goalscorers, with five having played in the Manning and daCosta Cup competitions.

Kingston College’s (KC) Kelvin Brown scored five goals to lead the team, with Jamaica College’s (JC) Jamone Lyle scoring thrice and Lacovia High’s Tyraun Bembridge scoring twice.

Clarendon College’s Justin Hayles and Manning’s School’s Rajon McKenzie scored a goal apiece along the way.

Wellington said he is pleased to see the local players coming to the fore, and is also proud to see the national players coming from both the urban and rural schools.

“We have some of our better players in the team being local-based players who play in the Manning and daCosta cups. We’re really proud of them,” he said.

“Schoolboy football covers the entire country, provides a level of exposure for every single school, every single player who plays in the competition, and we have players from right across the country playing for Jamaica,” the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) principal added.

“We have players from Garvey Maceo High, STETHS, Lacovia, Glenmuir High and then from the Manning Cup, you have your players from KC and JC. So there was a widespread (group) and it’s a representation of the spread of talent that is across the country.”

Jamaica will compete in the U17 World Cup set to be held in Qatar in November later this year.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com