Digicel’s Schools Football Championships make grand return today

After a 6-year hiatus, the Digicel’s Schools Football Championships are back with a bang, and the action starts today at the Ministry of Education (MoE) and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) grounds in the capital city.
Six games are lined up for today’s kick-off, while the competition would be rolled out across the country over the next week.
Region 1 will get things going on June 30th, Region 2 on July 3rd, and Region 3 on June 28th. The East Coast and East Bank (Region 4) will commence on June 24th and 29th respectively, while Region 5 will commence on June 26th. Region 6 will commence on July 3rd, while solitary games for Regions 7 and 8 will be contested on June 30th and July 7th respectively. In Region 9, the competition is set to commence on July 1st, while Region 10 gets going on July 3rd.
At a simple ceremony on Friday afternoon, stakeholders Digicel and the Petra Organization unveiled the National Championship Trophy for which more than 130 schools will be vying.
Petra Co-Director Troy Mendonca expressed gratitude to the title sponsors for bringing the tournament back, and highlighted the platform it gives to young players.
“We must recognize that this tournament, over the years, I think, is responsible (for) keeping school football alive, and while we had (an) absence for a few years, we at Petra, on behalf of the football fraternity, are very happy that the company would consider the reintroduction of the tournament,” Mendonca
shared. He added, “As you know, it is unique, in that it covers all ten Regions and it actually give an opportunity to each and every single school to participate.”
Digicel’s Chief Commercial Officer Simone Pierre has voiced the company’s commitment to youth development initiatives such as this tournament. She said:
“Over the years, one of Digicel’s main focus has been on youth development, whether it was through education or sports; and this tournament is a testament of that. We are very happy for the return.”
When the first whistle of the 2023 Digicel Championships blows, Bladen Hall Secondary will be taking on Plaisance Secondary, and L.B.I and Beterverwagting Secondary would do battle, both at 11:00hrs. Later in the day, Tucville Secondary will take on Queenstown Secondary, and the Institute of Academic Excellence would battle against West Ruimveldt Secondary from 16:15hrs.
Marian Academy and Ascension Secondary will lock horns from 14:30hrs, while East and South Ruimveldt Secondaries would go head-to- head from 12:45hrs.
Freeburg Secondary and Richard Ishmael Secondary will battle it out from 14:30hrs, and Christ Church Secondary will take on Queen’s College from 16:15hrs.
The Digicel’s Schools Football Championships are set to conclude on Sunday, August 13. Chase’s Academic Foundation are the defending champions, having won the tournament when it was last played in 2017.