Dear Editor: SSFL delay over Benedict’s has brought Intercol into disrepute

“[…] The SSFL has brought the Premier League and the Intercol competitions into grave disrepute.

“The 2024 Coca-Cola Boys Intercol competition should have never been started without resolving the bonafide status of Derrel ‘Zoom Zoom’ Garcia…”

The following Letter to the Editor on the Secondary School Football League (SSFL) Executive’s failure to make a decision on St Benedict’s College’s registration of captain Derrel Garcia—four weeks after starting a probe (on 25 October)—was submitted to Wired868 by Lester Somrah:

St Benedict’s College captain Derrel Garcia (centre) is presented with the South Zone Intercol trophy by SSFL South Zone chair Essiel Seecharan (left) after their penalty shootout win over Naparima College at the Ato Boldon Stadium on 22 November 2024.
Photo: Ramsey Prentice/ Wired868

The fairness, transparency and accountability of both the 2024 Premier League and the 2024 Coca-Cola Boys Intercol have been compromised by the continued delay of the SSFL in making a determination regarding the “bonafide status” of St. Benedict’s College captain and star forward Derrel ‘Zoom Zoom’ Garcia.


The SSFL has brought the Premier League and the Intercol competitions into grave disrepute.

The 2024 Coca-Cola Boys Intercol competition should have never been started without resolving the bonafide status of Derrel ‘Zoom Zoom’ Garcia and penalizing St Benedict’s College in the 2024 Premier League.

SSFL president Merere Gonzales (centre) greets the St Anthony’s College players before the 2023 National Intercol semifinal at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on 1 December 2023.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868

At this point in time, St Benedict’s College have progressed to the Nationals of the 2024 Coca-Cola Boys Intercol with the matter of the 2024 Premier League still not determined, with the apparent facilitation of the SSFL; and both Naparima College and Presentation College have been knocked out of the 2024 Boys Intercol.

Both schools (Naparima and Presentation) together with East Mucurapo Secondary School, should consider pooling their resources to obtain a court order/ court injunction stopping any further games in the 2024 Coca-Cola Boys Intercol.

Editor’s Note: Click HERE for more information on the St Benedict’s College registration furore.

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4 comments

  1. Penalizing St Benedicts for what? Everyone promoting this seems to have a horse in the race. Well done St Benedicts…keep.fighting.

  2. Laughable lol @court order and penalizing STBC im still awaiting the rule and regulation broken. Meanwhile, a TEAM who has out matched all their rivals on the pitch have to and they did mental up to all the literary corbeaux who keep circling and yet have not ascended to devour their prey because the fact is corbeaux don’t like sponge cake .

    • Mr.brathwaite .
      If you can tell zoom attended school when he played those 3 games in question. Then congrats to St.Benedicts .

      The last sentence of the rule that states, “These students must attend classes at that school during normal school hours,” has been addressed by all the findings listed to show that the student did not attended school in Form 3 from September 2023 to May 2024, and then from September 2 to October 7, 2024.

      Item d answers the question as to why the student-athlete was not included in the five matches St Benedict’s played in September 2024.

      Finally, the MoE investigation, as outlined in item 5, confirmed that the student-athlete’s first day on the class roll as a verified student was October 8, 2024. This suggests that, according to the final sentence of Article 16, the matches in which the student-athlete participated on October 2, 5, and 7, 2024, may not have been in compliance

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