Stresses and strains
By: Fazeer Mohammed (Express).
Friday, September 7th 2007
Even if some institutions are tardy in opening their doors for the new academic year, or have quickly shut them again to repair an assortment of problems, at least the Secondary Schools Football League can always be relied upon to kick-off on time.
Yet, as much as it is expected to generate the same level of trademark youthful enthusiasm, not to mention the vociferous backing of a readymade core of supporters, the relevance of the schoolboy variety as part of the overall development of the game at a national level will be in focus this season as never before in the aftermath of last month's experience of the Under-17 World Cup finals.
In returning home with 14 goals conceded and just one scored from three group games in South Korea, critics of the SSFL as a developmental platform for our football will have much ammunition. Those concerns are not based just on the results, which are actually in keeping with our limited experience of international level tournaments over the past 16 years, but also involve physical and mental readiness, for it seems that with every foray onto the global stage, we keep encountering the stark reality again and again about just how far we have to go if we want to be competitive at that level, to say nothing of making a real impact.
There is always a talking point on which to hinge any season, and last year's campaign highlighted that very issue about the position of the League in overall development, with national under-17 coach Anton Corneal incurring the wrath of schools officials and fans for suggesting that players who were part of the ultimately successful qualifying campaign should not be involved so extensively in schools competition.
His contention that players needed to be in a concentrated programme geared specifically towards the upcoming challenges of qualification was dismissed with some scorn by those who wondered aloud as to what all the fuss was about, given that the next stage of competition was a few months away. In any case, they countered, secondary schools football is a proud national tradition in itself and to dilute it by withdrawing the very best players would be an insult to the status of the competition and a slap in the face for all those who have loyally supported their favourite schools for years.
The debate highlights a fundamental divergence of opinion on the role of the SSFL. Should it be part of a comprehensive overall development plan for football in this country, or is it a unique tournament that should be allowed to stand on its own, whatever the inherent weaknesses, because it is involved with a broader perspective of holistic development of the student and cannot be measured just by the standard of play?
It is sort of like the club versus country disputes that invariably occupy a lot of attention at international level and never seem to be finally resolved, if only because both sides are convinced of the merits of their respective arguments.
Those who have followed the schools game closely for several years concede that, in almost every area, things are not as they used to be. Declining standards of play continue to be a worry, while the atmosphere surrounding the games, especially the Intercol, lacks the mass popular support and real passion of past years. At moments like this, many people tend to get all misty-eyed about the glory days of St Benedict's in the 1960s or the all-conquering San Fernando Technical of two decades later. The Signal Hill teams spearheaded by Dwight Yorke that swept all before them in the late 1980s also captured the imagination of the nation, while everyone in any way connected with the established colleges can recall a memorable occasion when they got one up on their bitter rivals.
Maybe a lot of it is exaggerated, for nostalgia tends to put a gloss over distant events that present them as much more than they really were. But even if the nationwide appeal is not as it once was, does that mean the SSFL as it is presently constituted should be disbanded and somehow incorporated into an age-group club-based structure?
There will be stout opposition to this notion, not only from those with selfish motives or who are just stubbornly resistant to change. Many well-meaning fans of the game, even as they shake their heads at the declining standards, point out that should no-one from the SSFL go on to senior national duty ever again, the competition still has a vital role to play as part of the educational development of adolescents.
"There are two mandates," as SSFL first vice-president Anthony Creed emphasised in an interview yesterday, reinforcing the point that whereas the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation is principally about the business of the game itself, the League looks upon the sport as just one aspect of the complete school curriculum and must of necessity place pure footballing issues within the context of that greater objective.
In this arena of competing interests but shared resources, there will always be stresses and strains. Indeed, such friction isn't always destructive, so long as it is not blown out of proportion.
"For the Good of the Game" is FIFA's motto, but for the SSFL, it is the overall welfare of the student that matters ultimately. It is a principle worth preserving, for no-one should ever believe that football, or any sport, is everything.
fazeer2001@hotmail.com
