Chase, St. Benedict’s vie for ultimate school football prize

St Benedict’s College from Trinidad and Tobago, the Intercol champions, will face Chase’s Academic Foundation, the U18 league champions, in the fifth KFC International Under-18 Secondary Schools Goodwill Football Series.

The match, dubbed the “Clash of the Champions”, will occur on the Ministry of Education ground.

On Saturday, players and coaches from both sides gathered at a KFC restaurant in Vlissengen Street for a pre-match event.

Chase’s Academic Foundation coach Orande Chase and captain Bryan Wharton met with St Benedict’s coach Lewis and captain Darrel Garcia.

Representatives from KFC, football scouts, and tournament organisers were also present.

Both teams have performed strongly throughout the six-day tournament to reach the final.

St Benedict’s College remains unbeaten, while Chase’s Academic Foundation is looking for a victory after previous encounters.

The two sides have played each other three times before.

Naranda Wilson, a scout from Futebol Real Brazil, praised the standard of the tournament.

“This tournament provides excellent opportunities…offering competitions of the highest level,” he said. He added that he hoped to give players the chance to experience South American football.

 Wilson also commended the organisers, the Petra Organisation, and sponsors KFC, saying the tournament was “undoubtedly the best in our region”.

Nafeeza Latif-Boston from the Petra Organisation thanked KFC for their five years of support.

She highlighted the international nature of this year’s series, with teams from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Suriname competing.

The final will be from 19:30h, while the third place playoff – Calrendon College from Jamaica and Annai Secondary –  will be from 17:30h.

The stakes are high for this year’s tournament, as the winners will take home a cash prize of US$2,500 and a hand-sculpted wooden trophy.

Notably, this trophy will be a lien, meaning a team must win the competition at least three times to claim it permanently.