Visa problem kicks top players off ISSA team

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

LACK of a visa has ruled out a number of Jamaica's top schoolboy stars from the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) select squad for this week's three-match tour of Fort Lauderdale in the United States.

The team, which is scheduled to leave the island today, will be without the services of midfielder Ashani Walker, who led Jamaica College (JC) to their historic triple-crown success this season.

Also missing from the squad is the Bridgeport pair of Jamiel Hardware and Kemar Phillpott, along with Norman Manley's Dean Phillips, Allan Ottey of St James High and Devon Williams of St George's College.

The Jamaicans are scheduled to play their first game against Haiti on Thursday. They will then opposeBarbados the following day, after which they will close out the tour on Sunday with a game against a CASA select team. All games will start at 8 p.m.

George Forbes, competition's officer ISSA, said he was very disappointed with not having some of nation's best players for the tour.

"We would have wanted to bring our strongest team, but most of the players don't have a visa and they didn't take any steps to acquire a visa," said Forbes. "We had to choose the team from those who took steps to acquire visas and those who already have a visa."

Forbes added: "I can't speak about any single player because we told the schools about this tournament from August and so all the schools that were interested took steps to acquire visas for their players."

The team will be coached by Anthony 'Follies' Williams, who guided Rusea's to this year's daCosta Cup title.

Williams will be assisted by JC's assistant coach, Delroy Brown, along with Merron Gordon of daCosta Cup runners-up Lennon High.

SQUAD: Goalkeepers - Gregory McKogg (St Elizabeth Technical) and Jermaine Thompson (Paul Bogle High); Forwards - Rohan Roye (St George's College), Akiel Barrett (Calabar), Bryan Brown (Rusea's) and Denmark Gillings (St Elizabeth Technical); Midfielders - Ewan Grandison (Lennon), Clovell Dinnall, (Glenmuir), Jermaine Woozencroft (Rusea's), Vincent Mitchell (Clarendon College), Johnoye Singh (Lennon), Theo Campbell (JC); Defenders - Sergio Campbell (Clarendon College), Wonique Pinnock (Rusea's), Deshawn Forbes (St. George's College), Andre Messam (JC), Neco Brett (Excelsior), Ackeemo Palmer (St Elizabeth Technical).