National U-17 coach withdraws players from SSFL; schools get fresh blow in drawn-out season

Naparima College and Signal Hill Secondary must field weakened teams for crucial Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) fixtures, as schools continue to suffer the repercussions of a spate of postponed and rescheduled 2025 fixtures.

Two weeks into January 2026, the SSFL, led by president Merere Gonzales, still has a stream of unplayed 2025 games left in both the boys and girls divisions.

And some teams might have been dismayed today to learn they are losing some of their top talent, with plenty still to play for.

Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-17 Team head coach Randolph Boyce, who is also the St Benedict’s College head coach, made his own position clear—he will not sanction the release of any of his players for SSFL competition, with their first Concacaf engagement just three weeks away.

“Please be advised that no players who are currently part of the Trinidad and Tobago U-17 National Team will be granted permission to represent their schools in SSFL matches, effective today and moving forward,” stated team manager Adrian Romain, via a press release. “This directive is in place as we continue with official national team activities and preparations.

“Any player who chooses to participate in SSFL matches does so entirely at their own risk, and such participation will be outside the responsibility and protection of the U-17 National Team program.

“We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter.”

The effect was immediate. This afternoon, St Benedict’s College and Naparima College faced each other in the South Zone Under-16 KO final.

Benedict’s allegedly lost the services of two players, who are with the national youth team. Naparima, however, are without six players.

Naparima manager Percy Samlalsingh confirmed that goalkeeper Mikhail Clement, defenders Antonio Hills and Jeremiah Daniel, utility player Sebastian James, midfielder Donovan Drayton Jr and forward Adasa Richardson were all ruled out due to national team commitments.

As the Naparima Under-14 team saw action today as well in another south knockout final—also against St Benedict’s—the Naparima U16s were left with just 15 available players for their outing.

St Benedict’s Under-14 team won 3-1, but Naparima managed to eke out a 3-2 win in the zonal under-16 final, with forward Riquelme Phillips among the scorers.

Naparima will have to do without James, Hills, Clement and company in the National Under-16 final as well, which is still to play, against Signal Hill Secondary.

Signal Hill, incidentally, must line-up for the National Under-16 final without midfield playmaker Ackim Duncan and attacker J’meke Watkins, who are also with the National Under-17 team.

Watkins and Duncan, so long as they remain in Boyce’s pool, will also miss a crucial Premier Division fixture against St Augustine Secondary, which also does not have a kick off date at present.

The clash was twice postponed, due to St Augustine’s failure to travel to Tobago for the contest.

Last month, the SSFL Disciplinary Committee ruled that the “Green Machine” forfeited the contest and awarded the three points to Signal Hill, only for the Appeal Committee to overrule the decision—on the grounds that the Disciplinary Committee was a member short for the hearing.

The SSFL subsequently opted to allow St Augustine a third chance to play the match and will pay for their flight to do so.

Signal Hill coach Downie Marcelle expressed frustration with the school officials’ handling of the competition, and the relevant protest.

“This is a game we could do without and if it would not have changed anything on the table, we would have just given St Augustine the [points],” Marcelle told Wired868. “We are into the next term and we have boys preparing for exams, or boys who are with their clubs.

“I think this all shows the incompetence of the SSFL when it comes to handling protests. There should be a 48-hour deadline to handle protests, so we do not affect the end of the league.”

Malick Secondary are looking on nervously. If St Augustine get a single point away to Signal Hill, they will leapfrog 13th place Malick to safety—and the latter school will be relegated.

Malick coach Akel Baig told Wired868 that he is furious to be in this position. His troops were told they survived the drop with a game to spare, after the initial ruling of forfeiture against St Augustine, only for an about-turn in the SSFL boardroom to leave them potentially stranded.

The fact that Signal Hill are now without two important players, Duncan and Watkins, for their fixture against the Green Machine will not improve Baig’s mood.

Marcelle insisted his remaining players are motivated and will go out to win against St Augustine—the only result that could save Malick.

At present, Signal Hill are fifth on the 16-team table. They will climb over Fatima to fourth place with a narrow win over the Green Machine, while a victory by the margin of three goals or more would see the Tobago school also beat Presentation College (San Fernando) to third place.

“It is important to us to finish third—finishing third is something historic for a Tobago school (in the Premier Division era),” said Marcelle. “To be in the top three is commendable and we want to use that as motivation for next season.

“We want to be able to look back at the table and see we were right there and finished ahead of Fatima and Presentation as a secondary school.”

Undoubtedly, though, it is not the same Signal Hill team that St Augustine would have faced if they met each other last year.

Marcelle confirmed that his team have not trained since the National Intercol final on 10 December, as they shut down for the Christmas period and then allowed players to rejoin their clubs in the new year, for the anticipated Republic Bank National Youth Football League (RBNYFL).

Republic Bank officials since confirmed that there will be no RBNYFL competition in 2026.

St Augustine Secondary coach Tacuma Jones will hope that Men’s National Under-20 Team head coach Marvin Gordon does not follow Boyce’s lead and also warn his players against SSFL duty.

At present, St Augustine captain and leading scorer, Giovanni Hospedales, is a member of Gordon’s National Under-20 pool.

The SSFL Disciplinary Committee is still to rule on a protest by San Juan North Secondary against Scarborough Secondary’s use of midfielder Johan Elliot for their Premier Division fixture on Monday 15 December.

Elliot represented Eagles FC in a Tobago Football Association (TFA) contest on 7 December, which voids his registration according to SSFL rules. However, Scarborough believe the ruling should not apply due to the postponement of the match, which fell during the December school holidays.

At present, San Juan North are due for relegation, after their 1-0 loss to Scarborough. But the Elliot ruling could reverse the fate of the two schools.

It is another complication related to the repeat postponements of the 2025 school football calendar.

The SSFL boys competitions are not the only ones affected by the administration’s inability to conclude its competition on time.

The Girls National Intercol title, won by Pleasantville Secondary after a penalty shoot-out triumph against Five Rivers Secondary, is the only girls national title that was decided in the appropriate calendar year.

Yesterday, Five Rivers survived a late Bishop’s High School onslaught to win the Girls National Under-15 trophy with a 4-3 triumph in Tobago.

Hackeemar Goodridge scored a first half hattrick for the East Zone champions, but it was Jayda Herbert who settled the affair with a stoppage time winner—after Donnica Stewart, Kerriscia Hurst and Kcey Reid got second half goals for the host school.

However, the Girls Big Five competition, which will decide the nation’s best under-20 girls school, is only at the semifinal stage.

Five Rivers remained in the Sister Isle to face Signal Hill in one semifinal contest on Thursday 15 January while St Joseph’s Convent (Port of Spain) and Pleasantville square off in the other semi.

All four schools have Women’s National Under-17 players and, notably, that team is also in training for Concacaf competition next month. The 2026 WoLF season is also supposed to start before Carnival, with teams already preparing.

The ongoing SSFL season interferes with both club and country’s football plans.

At least there are plans to complete the Girls Big Five competition. The Boys Big Five appears to have ended without all the fixtures being played.

At present, Presentation College (Chaguanas) are still due to face Speyside Secondary in Tobago. But, with the promotion places already snatched up by Hillview College, Speyside and Mucurapo West Secondary, there is no indication that the Speyside – Presentation clash will ever play.

Neither Presentation nor Speyside have kept their teams active, which is difficult to do over the Christmas period in any case.

Samlalsingh said the Naparima Under-14 and Under-16 teams managed just three training sessions during the Christmas vacation, due to the boys’ family commitments.

And, when Naparima did train, they had to make do on the sides of their field, as the school already prepared their pitch for the 2026 cricket season.

“This is the third year we are going through this, with the football season finishing late,” said Samlalsingh. “I just want to get through our games as soon as possible and enjoy some cricket.”