ISSA announces restart of high-school sports

The wait is over as the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) schoolboy Manning and daCosta Cup football competitions will resume the week of November 24 after being suspended for more than two weeks.

ISSA made the announcement via social media earlier today.

“The Inter Secondary Schools Sports Association [ISSA] has concluded its deliberations on the resumption of inter-schools’ sports competitions after the passing of Hurricane Melissa and its devastating impact on Western Jamaica.

“Following consultations with its various stakeholders, including participating schools, sponsors, match officials and its general membership, ISSA has decided to resume school sports beginning the week of November 24, 2025,” read the release.

According to ISSA, even the schools most badly impacted by the passage of Hurricane Melissa voiced wishes to return to competition.

Still, ISSA says it is aware that a resumption alone will not be enough to heal the trauma suffered by the passage.

“ISSA is committed to using its competitions as a tool to aid in the recovery of our students from the physical and psychological impact of Hurricane Melissa.

“As such, we will be engaging our stakeholders, including the general public, in our post-Melissa competitions' activities geared towards our Hurricane relief efforts in support of affected schools.

ISSA will also be posting revised schedules for under-16 and under-19 netball, boys’ under-16 and under-19 basketball, as well as Manning and daCosta Cup competitions by November 20.

Junior football competitions, the Colts under-16 and the Pepsi under-14, will begin in January 2026.

The need for the postponement of schoolboy sports became apparent as Hurricane Melissa ravaged the island. However, the length of the pause came up for question, given the devastation suffered, especially by western and central parishes.

Before the postponement, the competition was at the round-of-16 stage with 11 playing days left, which is approximately five-and-a-half weeks if two games are played per week.

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