HAVING dethroned the defending champions Lodge Secondary in theie semifinal last Thursday, Dolphin Secondary would be looking to make it two out of two, when they face pre-tournament favourites Chase Academy in the final of this year’s Petra Organisation/Nestle Milo Under-20 Schools Football competition, at the Ministry of Education ground today.Prior to the final which kicks off at 19:00hrs, ousted champions Lodge Secondary will take on Morgan’s Learning Institute in the third-place playoff, which kicks off at 17:00hrs.

But while many would have loved to see a Lodge-Chase Academy showdown for the title, they can still have their appetites whetted by the Dolphin-Chase Academy encounter, especially since both captains showed mutual respect for each other at yesterday’s arranged press briefing.
Certainly, no additional hype is needed for this final, but both the sponsor and organiser of Petra Organisation took nothing for granted and arranged a media briefing in the boardroom of M. Beepat and Sons yesterday.
It provided the opportunity for both finalists to disclose their preparations ahead of today’s final, with same being done in the presence of Nestle representative Renita Sital, Petra Organisation co-Director Troy Mendonca, Chase Academy Principal Henry Chase and Dolphin’s teacher Joel Porter.
At the end of the discourse, both captains, Kareem Knights (Chase Academy) and Shawn Mohamed (Dolphin), took the opportunity to pose with the silverware which will be up for grabs at the end of today’s contest.
Prior to such, Sital who gave the opening remarks revealed the company’s joy at the talent that is on display this year, adding that the entire running of the tournament has shown significant improvement all-round.
According to Sital, another heartening aspect of this year’s tournament was the fact that many parents, guardians and fans responded to her plea to come out and support their children and the players. For this she expressed gratitude, even as she urged both teams to exceed their semi-final performances and give 100% during the game.
Mendonca in his presentation assured all that all systems are in place for a riveting conclusion to a tournament that has made its mark in terms of developing the future generation of players to the national grid, while it also served to inculcate discipline among the schools.
Like Sital, Mendonca also expressed his sentiments to the family and supporters of the teams especially the finalists and called on the players to display 100% commitment in today’s final, adding that he believes all the parties involved are raring and ready to put on a good show for the fans.
“I think we’ve had a very good tournament to date, despite a few hiccups which saw three schools being expelled for infringing the rules, but we’ll learn and come back even stronger next year. It was another good learning experience for us and you can be assured that come next year we will certainly eliminate those issues,” Mendonca stated.
He said in reflecting on the tournament over the past three years, it has definitely made strides and in collaboration with the sponsor they will continue to help develop young people as the years go by.
In his address, Chase said he was delighted that his school has reached the final saying that it was no easy task, but one that needed a lot of planning and financing.
“I don’t think that the society realises that this tournament is more than just football; it is actually giving a lot of them another opportunity to attend school after passing the age of eligibility to remain in the public system,” said Chase, who also highlighted the number of dropouts who have been afforded the opportunity to return to an academic institution and have another chance to realise their dreams.
Chase added that he is delighted that the tournament is happening; pointing out that it is helping to instil discipline among the youths and also reconditioning them to be better citizens in the society, while he also recognised the huge effort that Nestle Milo is making and called on other members of the corporate community to come on board and assist the youths.
Porter too expressed delight at his team’s performance to date and credited their tireless work during preparations for their final berth, noting that very often they are singled out as unworthy, but pointed to their dedication to the task as ample evidence that if given the opportunity how productive they could be.
Porter said today’s game is the right platform for them to dispel the notion of their unworthiness and go on the field and show all and sundry that they are capable of being high achievers if presented with the chance.
He extended gratitude to Nestle Milo for having the foresight and fortitude to put their money into such a tournament, even as both captains exuded confidence, but also agreed that it will be a tough encounter worth watching.
Mohamed along with Leon Richardson, Job Caesar and Joshua Pereira will lead Dolphin’s charge against a Chase lineup that includes several players who would have represented other schools in the tournament last year, such as Knights, Shemar Barrow, Josiah Charles and Marlon Nedd, among others.

By Calvin Roberts