
By Neto Baptiste
Coordinator of Schools Football within the Ministry of Sports Rowan Benjamin has pledged that a long sought-after meeting with principals of schools taking part in the programme will materialise.
Speaking recently on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, Benjamin who had previously said that he would not meet with the heads of schools unless it was a general meeting called by the Ministry of Sports, back-tracked on that statement, adding that input from the principals could help to move the programme forward.
“It’s going to happen with or without others. The principals are going to get involved with schools football and we are going to chart a course for the development or improvement of schools football. Similar to what goes on with ISSA [Inter-Secondary School Sports Association] in Jamaica and I understand it’s almost the same thing in Trinidad so if football has to start it then let football start it and the other sports would have to follow because the principals will make sure of that and I can guarantee that,” he said.
A number of principals to include Dr Colin Greene of Princess Margaret School (PMS) and Foster Roberts of Ottos Comprehensive School (OCS) have constantly called for more inclusivity where it regards the planning and running of the competition.
Benjamin said he understands the plight of the principals.
“A lot of principals are not satisfied … with the way the coaching and so on are done and also they have other issues like transportation issues and a whole lot of things. So I hope that they don’t, maybe, have this idea that when they do arrive that all these things will be sorted out because the transportation issue is a major problem,” he said.
The 2023 schools football programme is set to climax next month with the Boys Under-20 semis and final and also the final of the Girls Under-16.
Princes Margaret School has so far captured the Boys Under-14, Boys Under-16 and the Girls Under-20 titles.