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Another Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) match day, another postponement.
There was more farce today in the 2025 schools football competition as referees did not show for a Girls Big Five semifinal fixture between defending champions Pleasantville Secondary and North Zone champions St Joseph’s Convent (Port of Spain) at the St Anthony’s College school ground in Westmoorings.
Pleasantville won that contest 5-0.
The two teams were unable to do battle in the Big Five semifinal today due to a no-show by match officials.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
The game was supposed to kickoff at 3.30pm but, at 4pm, Wired868 understands that only one official showed up and the event was postponed—again.
Meanwhile, in Tobago, Five Rivers Secondary were forced to play without their leading scorer and most outstanding player, Hackeemar Goodridge, and fell 3-0 to Signal Hill Secondary.
Goodridge was already in Tobago with her school when word came from Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Under-17 Team coach Ayana Russell that she was not to step foot on the field—with Russell keen to keep her players safe for next month’s Concacaf qualifiers.
Photo: TTFA Media.
Russell’s intervention, which was made to the player’s guardian and not the Five Rivers technical staff, did not go over well with the East Zone champions.
On Saturday 6 December, Five Rivers edged Signal Hill 1-0 in the National Intercol semifinal round at the Hasely Crawford Stadium training field, with Goodridge netting the only goal.
It was always going to be difficult for Five Rivers to repeat that feat in Tobago—but even moreso without Goodridge.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Goalless at the half, Signal Hill eventually opened the scoring with a Leia-Marie Balfour header off a corner kick in the 54th minute. And National Under-20 Team midfielder Ty’Kaiya Dennis and attacker Alliyah Baptiste got late items, as the hosts pulled away.
“We are a team—one player doesn’t determine a team,” said Five Rivers manager and teacher Sylvester Sandiford, “but we always have faith in Hackeemar to get the job done as a striker. Hackeemar has a scoring mentality and we really and truly missed her today.
“We played the football but we just didn’t have an outlet.”
Dennis was influential today as Signal Hill downed Five Rivers 3-0 in the Big Five semifinal.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Sandiford was skeptical about the no-show from North Zone officials today, with National Under-17 Team players from Pleasantville and St Joseph’s Convent also ordered not to play.
Time will tell whether the outstanding semifinal fixture will be played before the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 tournament, or after—with the latter possibility already decried as “unjust” by the Five Rivers contingent, who suffered without Goodridge today.
There was another shocking no-show today for a crucial boardroom meeting, as the SSFL Disciplinary Committee inexplicably failed to reach a quorum in a meeting called by the administrators.
The SSFL has been plagued by postponements under Gonzales’ watch, particularly over the past two seasons.
Photo: Dirk Allahar/ bcreative designs/ Wired868.
The Disciplinary Committee was due to hear a protest lodged by San Juan North Secondary on 16 December 2025, over Scarborough Secondary’s use of midfielder Johan Elliot on the previous day.
Elliot represented Scarborough in their 1-0 win over San Juan North at Shaw Park on 15 December, despite representing Eagles FC in a Tobago Football Association (TFA) Premier Division contest on Sunday 7 December.
According to SSFL rules, a player’s registration is immediately voided once he takes part in any competition under the umbrella of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA).
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
As it stands, San Juan North are relegated to the East Championship Division while Scarborough preserved their spot in the SSFL top flight. However, if the Disciplinary Committee finds merit in San Juan North’s case, the Tobago team will be demoted instead of the “San Juan Kings”.
Remarkably, the three Disciplinary Committee members did not show up for the online meeting, with only chair Essiel Seecharan and Gerald Elliot appearing.
So, again, the meeting has to be postponed to a date to be determined.
Photo: Wired868.
And, more than six weeks after the scheduled end for the SSFL’s 2025 season, two of the three Premier Division teams to be demoted remain unknown—while the Girls Big Five and Boys National Under-14 and Under-16 finals are yet to play.
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
