ABSTRACT
‘Schoolboy football’ was the most popular domestic league in Black River, and the annual Black River High-Munro match was the best attended in the town. Eight out of the ten most regular players at Ashton (the amateur football field) had played in the schoolboy football league, and their experiences continued to play a large role in their ‘bragging’. This chapter offers a brief history of the link between football and education in Jamaica and looks at the class associations of Munro and Black River High before moving to the Dacosta cup, or D-cup, experiences of the research participants. In order to understand both schoolboy football and the amateur matches, it is important to recognize the overlaps between class and education which became particularly apparent around the football field. Schoolboy football allowed the players the privilege of being able to skip class and look girls, as well as the opportunity to travel around the island.
