WITH the schoolboy football season drawing close, one of Portland's top contenders, Fair Prospect High School which qualified for both the quarter-final round of the daCosta Cup and Ben Francis Cup for the past two seasons, will be missing from this season's competition because of financial reasons.

Principal of the institution, Sylvia McKenzie, told The Gleaner recently that it would have cost the institution "way over $200,000" to compete in this year's competition.

Last season Fair Prospect had emerged runners-up in the split zone L that also included Happy Grove, Titchfield, Port Antonio and Buff Bay.

The principal also pointed out that Robert Hamilton, Fair Prospect's coach last season, would be on study leave and it would be "very difficult for us to find a qualified coach to replace him".

She said: "We are at a crossroads. we have limited financial resources at our disposal at this time.

Technical resources

"We lack the technical resources, as well as the quality players necessary to push the school forward," she explained.

McKenzie said that she had consulted with a committee comprising the bursar, along with members of the school's Sports department just before the summer holidays.

"We have concluded that it was way too expensive for us to field a team in this season's competition," she said.

According to McKenzie, she and her team had put every detail to thought and have concluded that the school had to look for a more inexpensive way.

She said that they had decided that the school would return to playing cricket and netball after a brief absence from both sports.

McKenzie said the school had to rely on academic staff to operate as coaches as "we cannot afford to pay specialist coaches at this time".

She, however, concluded that the school decided to participate in the Under-16 football competition after acquiring a part-time coach recently.

"We have concluded that it was way too expensive for us to field a team in this season's competition," - McKenzie