The knockout round of the National Sports Council/BICO Primary School Football Competition has wrapped up its Round of 16 matches, with eight elite teams punching their tickets to the upcoming quarter-finals, and a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s championship final already building buzz among young football fans across the country.
Defending tournament title holders West Terrace Primary secured their spot in the final eight with a hard-fought 1-0 shutout victory over Reynold Weekes Primary, with Neymar Forde netting the decisive lone goal of the match to seal the win. Last year’s tournament runners-up Arthur Smith Primary also advanced to the next round, but they were pushed to the limit by a determined St Paul’s Primary side, needing a penalty shootout to secure a 4-3 edge on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw in full regulation time. St Paul’s forward Zeshawn Shorey delivered a standout individual performance in regulation, notching a hat-trick to put his side in position to pull off an upset, while Arthur Smith found the back of the net from Jakkori Best and Tristan Carew-Stephens, plus a late own goal that forced the match to penalties.
Two other Round of 16 matches on Friday at St George’s Greens Playing Field also delivered clear results. Host representative St George Primary dominated Bernard’s Primary 2-0 to advance, with Tyree Cumberbatch and Cameron Hope each finding the score sheet. Deacons Primary also secured a 2-0 victory over Roland Edwards Primary, with Adrian Allen and Jaylen Fenty combining for the winning goals to book Deacons’ quarter-final spot.
The first four quarter-final berths were claimed a day earlier, on Thursday, in a series of tightly contested matches. Milton Lynch Primary picked up a 3-0 win over All Saints Primary, with Amari Callender, Jovanni Bascombe and Shakir Perch all splitting the goals for the winning side. Wesley Hall Primary advanced with a 2-0 shutout of Hitz 106.7 FM Bay Primary, with Shaquri Burgess and Tazarie Marshall notching one goal apiece. St Stephen’s Primary edged past Blackman and Gollop Primary 1-0 thanks to a single first-half strike from Sirr Dash, while St Cyprians Primary claimed a 1-0 victory over Providence Primary, with Tashim Welch’s second-half goal proving to be the game-winner.
All quarter-final matches are scheduled to take place on June 15 at the Greens Playing Field, setting up four compelling matchups for football fans to enjoy. St Stephen’s will square off against Milton Lynch, St Cyprians will take on Wesley Hall, and Deacons will go head-to-head against St George. But the undoubted highlight of the quarter-final draw is the marquee matchup between defending champion West Terrace Primary and last year’s runner-up Arthur Smith Primary, a rematch of the 2023 tournament final.
Both sides have entered the quarter-final round undefeated through the 2024 competition, and both have made clear their goal of reaching the semi-finals, which are scheduled to be held at the Barbados Football Association’s Technical Centre on June 18. The 2024 tournament final will also take place at the Technical Centre, with the championship match set for June 27.