Like the boys' Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Big 5 playoff competition, the girls' SSFL Big 5 final has been postponed to January 2024.
The final is to be contested in Tobago between Five Rivers Secondary and reigning girls' Big 5 champions Scarborough Secondary.
The match was originally scheduled for November 15, but has been delayed on numerous occasions through a combination of faulty travel arrangements and the involvement of both schools in the national intercol competition, which concluded on December 7. Both teams were knocked out of the national intercol competition by eventual winners Pleasantville Secondary.
On Thursday, correspondence from SSFL general secretary Azaad Khan to school principals confirmed the latest delay.
"The girls' Big 5 final between Scarborough Secondary and Five Rivers Secondary has now been postponed due to unavailability of flights. The fixture for the said game shall be issued in the first week of January 2024."
On Tuesday, the SSFL wrote to Caribbean Airlines (CAL) asking for bookings for 29 people travelling from Trinidad to Tobago on December 21. On Thursday, CAL responded, "We have no availability on flights outbound on December 21, 2023. We were only able to obtain the return flight which is scheduled at 11.40 pm."
The available seats were cancelled on Friday.
This latest delay means the SSFL will go into the new year with two of its major competitions still undecided, as the boys' Big 5 playoffs were postponed to a date to be determined in January after protests and subsequent disciplinary matters involving zonal championship division winners Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School and Moruga Secondary.
Both schools had points deducted at the end of the 2023 season for breaching SSFL rules on player registration. Both Miracle Ministries and Moruga have appealed the SSFL's decision, which will see them stripped of their respective Central and South zone championship crowns – and their Big 5 spots.
SOURCE: T&T Newsday