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Munro aim to reclaim daCosta Cup glory
August 08, 2025
Following an unsuccessful attempt to end a 60-year daCosta Cup drought in the last ISSA football season, Munro College have their sights firmly set on getting it done this time.
"The ambition to break this drought and win a trophy for Munro, it is always going to be a part of our mental space, it doesn't just go away. We want to be the first to get this done," said Kemar Ricketts, the school's coach.
Last season, Munro started strong and advanced as winners of their zone in both the first and second rounds. In addition, they ended an 18-year drought of not advancing to the quarter-finals of the daCosta Cup. However, their title chase came to a heartbreaking end, as a 3-0 loss to Garvey Maceo proved too much to overcome.
According to Ricketts, they have retained over 80 per cent of the players from last season and as such, the programme has improved.
"The aim is, you want do something better every year. You would have learnt from the first year, so you can make the adjustments the second year and maximise for your third year," Ricketts explained.
"Our staffing and squad is better heading into the season," he added.
Cavalier Soccer Club's head coach and sporting director, Rudolph Speid, is the technical director for Munro.
The St Elizabeth-based school won both the daCosta Cup, at its inception in 1950, and the Olivier Shield. They have won seven daCosta Cup titles and the most Olivier Shield titles (19) among rural schools.
The 168-year-old school was known as Potsdam School before it was renamed during the World War. The school won its last daCosta Cup title in 1964, when they defeated Titchfield High School 4-1 in the final.
Munro's preseason has been moving steadily, said Ricketts.
"Every season writes its own story and I think this preseason is one of them. It's a mix, because some players would have joined us early and some late. We are getting the job done and it is great," he shared.
Though the expectation is to win silverware, Ricketts said the plan is to take it by stages.
"We are only looking at the first round, to qualify from that round to the second round. We take it in strides and we won't get ahead of ourselves," Ricketts told STAR Sports.
Over the years, Munro College have produced outstanding sportsmen, such as the late Lindy Delapenha, the first Jamaican to play professional football in England; Nelson Christian Stokes, who played on the 1981 daCosta Cup team and was a member of the world-renowned Jamaica bobsleigh team at the Calgary Winter Olympics; Dr Dean Weatherly, a highly rated coach with the most success at Cornwall College, winning 10 of the MoBay institution's 12 titles; Eddison 'Eddie' Hinds; Winston George Hutchinson, who captained the daCosta Cup team to several victories; and Ken Walton, who won three daCosta Cup titles.
"Our ambition, like any other school in the competition, is that you get a chance, you want to maximise that chance in winning the silverware," he said.
Munro will be campaigning in Zone E in the first round alongside B.B. Coke High, St Elizabeth Technical High, Maggotty High, Newell High, and Lacovia High.
The ISSA schoolboy football season will officially begin on Saturday, September 6.
