October 17, 2026
ISSA Must Dispel perception It Operates as a Kangaroo Court
Written byRoger Hasfal
The following sports commentary does not reflect the views of Irie Fm.
The Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) must reform its disciplinary mechanisms to eliminate the growing perception that it operates as a kangaroo court where fairness is discarded and outcomes are predetermined.
The recent controversy involving Jamaica College (JC) and national youth footballer Jamone Lyle has exposed critical institutional flaws regarding natural justice, transparency, and accountability within the governing body of Jamaican school sports.
THE CONTROVERSY AND SANCTIONS
The dispute erupted when ISSA determined that Jamone Lyle, an active member of JC’s schoolboy football programme, was ineligible because he was registered under a professional contract with Waterhouse Football Club. This arrangement breached ISSA’s longstanding amateurism regulations.
As a result, ISSA issued severe penalties:
• Disqualification of Jamaica College from the Walker Cup.
• A ban from participating in the 2027 Walker Cup competition.
• Forfeiture of JC’s Manning Cup victory against St. Catherine High, turning a 3-2 win into a 3-0 loss.
• Replacement of JC in the Walker Cup final by Mona High, the team JC had previously defeated on penalties.
While ISSA holds a legitimate responsibility to enforce rules to maintain a level playing field, the severe nature of these penalties has sparked intense public debate.
JC’s Board of Management Chairman, Lance Hylton, publicly condemned the sanctions as “unsupportable, extreme and excessive,” bringing ISSA’s internal procedures under heavy scrutiny.
THE PROBLEM OF CONCENTRATED POWER
A major issue highlighted by this case is the structure of ISSA’s disciplinary and appeals framework. When Jamaica College filed an appeal against the initial ruling, the ISSA Executive Committee reviewed and subsequently upheld the sanctions issued by its own disciplinary arm.
This setup creates an inherent conflict of interest. True natural justice requires an independent, impartial third party to review disputes. When the same organization acts as investigator, prosecutor, judge, and appeals court, public confidence in a fair outcome is severely undermined. The process leaves the accused school with no neutral avenue for recourse inside the school sports framework.
Outdated Frameworks vs. Modern Realities
Legal and sports experts have pointed out that ISSA’s strict amateurism rules fail to align with modern international football standards. Dr. Emir Crowne, a prominent sports law expert in an interview with the Jamaica Gleaner published October 17, 2026, noted that FIFA’s regulatory framework explicitly recognizes and protects minors who transition into professional environments.
By treating a young athlete’s career progression as an automatic disqualification from school sports, ISSA penalizes the student-athlete. Critics argue that any governing framework involving minors must prioritize the child’s development, welfare, and voice. Currently, ISSA’s rules appear to prioritize punitive measures over the educational and athletic growth of the students it is meant to serve.
MOVING FORWARD: THE NEED FOR REFORM
To protect its reputation and restore faith in its administration, ISSA must transition toward a modern, transparent, and fair disciplinary model. Key institutional reforms should include:
1. A legitimate Independent Appeals Board: Establishing a completely autonomous arbitration body separate from the ISSA Executive Committee to hear appeals neutrally.
2. Proportional Sanctions: Ensuring that penalties fit the nature of the infraction without excessively harming an entire school community or a minor’s future.
3. Collaborative Governance:
Working closely with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and local clubs to build clear guardrails, preventing communication gaps regarding professional contracts.
Enforcing regulations is essential for competitive integrity, but the methods utilized must be irreproachable.
ISSA must dismantle its insular disciplinary loop to prove that its system operates on clear principles of justice rather than administrative overreach.
Opportunity for ISSA
The real opportunity here is for ISSA to transform a damaging controversy into meaningful institutional reform.
It should also reconsider any membership provision that purports to prevent legitimate judicial scrutiny.
Jamaica’s school sports system is far too important to be governed under a cloud of suspicion.
Its purpose extends beyond winning trophies. It is supposed to cultivate discipline, character, accountability, educational development and respect for justice.
The ultimate test of ISSA’s leadership is not whether it can punish Jamaica College.
It is whether it can demonstrate that its own exercise of power is fair, accountable and worthy of public trust.
ISSA must therefore move beyond defending its authority and begin demonstrating its commitment to justice.
Because in sport, as in society, justice must not only be done. It must also be seen to be done.
