Protests push SSFL boys' Big 5 playoffs into January

The Big 5 playoffs for the boys' Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) championship division will be played in January 2024, said league president Merere Gonzales on Tuesday.

Gonzales made the announcement during the Coca-Cola national intercol quarter-final between St Anthony's College and Chaguanas North Secondary at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.

The Big 5 tournament was originally scheduled to begin on October 20, with the five zonal championship division winners set to battle for three promotion spots for next year's premier division season. The five zonal winners were Blanchisseuse Secondary (North zone), Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School (Central zone), Moruga Secondary (South zone), Signal Hill Secondary (Tobago zone) and St Augustine Secondary (East zone). Newsday understands protests were lodged against three of the aforementioned schools – Blanchisseuse, Miracle Ministries and Moruga.

SSFL South zone chairman and the league's disciplinary committee head, Essiel Seecharan, confirmed the protests and said the SSFL will make a decision after the conclusion of the intercol competition. The finals of the boys and girls' intercol tournaments are scheduled for December 7.

Seecharan said the protests against the three championship division winners were filed after the final round of action in the SSFL's second tier in October.

"The (protests) were made so late, if we had to deal with them then it would have pushed back the intercol tournament. The Big 5 is a separate tournament in itself because it determines who goes up for promotion and demotion. We felt it was wise – based on how these protests came in – to just complete the intercol," Seecharan told Newsday.

"We are at the end of the academic term and most schools are in that period where exams are being (held) and that kinda thing. That was part and parcel why the Big 5 playoffs have moved to January.

"We will be going into Christmas as well. We will have a little break and then we will tie that all together so we can run the Big 5 as smoothly and efficiently as possible."

Seecharan said the disciplinary committee "discussed the protests, but we have not met yet to deal with those matters."

The disciplinary committee chairman did not disclose the nature of the protests.

"Personally, I am one who tends to be very cautious in terms of how I deal with these situations, because they can definitely make or break a school if you rush to make decisions or comments.

"At the end of the day, when we sit down with the evidence we will be able to determine whether (the schools) did anything wrong or not."

Miracle Ministries manager Shennel Charles said she was aware of the protest against the school. Charles said Miracle Ministries' issue was one of " player registration" timeliness, as the school submitted their squad's registration for the 2023 season on the day of the deadline – September 12.

However, Charles indicated Miracle Ministries' registration was submitted after the specified deadline time, owing to "connectivity issues" at the school. Miracle Ministries' first game of the championship season was played from 3.40 pm on September 15 against Presentation College (Chaguanas).

Per the SSFL's constitution, "the registration of a player with the league must be made in writing at least 72 hours before the start of the game in which that player is to take part. This registration must be made with the general secretary or zone secretary."

Failure to adhere to this rule can lead to the "loss of points for all matches in which the offending player(s) appeared. These points shall be awarded to the opposing team(s)."

Miracle Ministries won nine of their ten championship division matches and finished two points clear of the second-placed team Carapichaima East Secondary (25 points).

Blanchisseuse manager Hashim Johnson said he heard "murmurs" of a protest against his team, but he did not receive any official correspondence. He said Blanchisseuse were eagerly awaiting the start of the Big 5 playoffs. Blanchisseuse clinched the North zone championship in dramatic fashion, as they edged Trinity College Moka (25 points) by a solitary point.

Moruga finished with a perfect record – 30 points – in the South championship, beating Ste Madeleine Secondary (24 points) into second spot.

Moruga manager Andy Joseph did not answer calls to his cellphone up to press time.

The girls' Big 5 final between Scarborough Secondary and Five Rivers Secondary, which was scheduled for Thursday in Tobago, has been postponed yet again. The postponement is as a result of Five Rivers' involvement in the national intercol tournament, which saw them playing Pleasantville Secondary in the quarter-final Wednesday. The league is still to determine a new date for the girls' Big 5 final.