St Benedict's mystery letters query registration of 'Naps' players

Between the late hours of November 26 and the early-morning hours of November 27, two letters, purporting to be from St Benedict's College acting principal Gregory Quan Kep, and querying the eligibility of three Naparima College players, were disseminated to the media mere hours before the title-deciding games in the 2025 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division season.

In one correspondence to the SSFL credentials committee dated November 5, Benedict's acting principal made an inquiry about a Naparima player, who suited up for the league leaders against Benedict's on November 3. Meanwhile, in the other letter, which is dated November 26, Quan Kep allegedly drew attention to the registration status of two Naparima players for the 2025 campaign.

Calls and WhatsApp messages to Quan Kep to confirm the authenticity of the letters were unanswered, while calls to SSFL president Merere Gonzales and first vice-president were also unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Benedict's manager Ravi Ramgoolam said he had no knowledge of the letters when reached for comment on November 27. The SSFL's assistant secretary of operations Gerald Elliot also said he was unaware of any such query from the Benedict's camp.

The emergence of these letters comes just hours before the biggest games of the premier division campaign, as leaders "Naps" and the second-placed Signal Hill Secondary (both 34 points) meet at Lewis Street, San Fernando from 3.30 pm, with the winner set to seize the premier division title. Meanwhile, away to Trinity College East in Trincity, third-placed Benedict's (33 points) can still sneak in and take the premier division trophy if they defeat Trinity and Naparima and Signal Hill play to a draw in their clash.

Just last year, Benedict's were stripped of premier division honours when they were found to have used an ineligible player in talisman Derrel "Zum Zum" Garcia for four matches – leading to a costly 12-point deduction. Garcia still won the 2024 Player of the Year accolade despite his school's off-field registration shortcomings as he led them to the national intercol title when they defeated eventual 2024 league champions Fatima College.

Up to the time of publication, a Naparima official told Newsday the school had not received correspondence from the SSFL on any queries or possible player protests against any members of their squad.