The Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) has officially announced the rescheduled date for the prestigious Olivier Shield championship match. The decisive clash between St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and Excelsior High will now determine Jamaica’s supreme schoolboy football team on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
ISSA President Keith Wellington confirmed that while the venue remains undecided, the match will be held at either the National Stadium or the adjacent Stadium East field. This scheduling change became necessary due to extensive disruptions caused by Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island on October 28 and forced a month-long postponement of the football season. The championship was originally slated for December 13, 2025.
The Olivier Shield represents one of Jamaica’s most historic sporting traditions, established in 1909 through the donation of Sir Sydney Haldane Olivier (later Lord Olivier), who served as Governor of Jamaica from 1907 to 1913. The competition was created to crown supremacy between urban Manning Cup champions and rural daCosta Cup winners, creating a unique inter-school rivalry that has endured for over a century.
Jamaica College holds the record with 22 titles, claiming the inaugural championship in 1909 and their most recent in 2017. Munro College follows with 17 titles, though their last victory dates back 74 years to 1951. St George’s College maintains third position with 13 championships, while Cornwall College and Kingston College are tied with 11 titles each.
Current title holders Kingston College secured the 2024 championship through a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout victory against Garvey Maceo. The competition format has evolved from allowing shared titles in drawn two-legged ties to the current winner-takes-all approach decided by penalties if necessary.
STETHS enters the final seeking their second all-island title, having previously triumphed in 1999 alongside their six daCosta Cup victories. Excelsior High aims for their third Olivier Shield, having shared the title with Rusea’s High in 1993 before claiming an outright victory in 2003.