MONTEGO BAY, St James — Nearly four years after they exited the scene via a name change to Montego Bay United after earning promotion to the Red Stripe Premier League, Seba are back on the local football circuit.

A group of former Seba United players and officials have come together to reform the club that started in 1972 among staff at the then Beacon newspaper, before going on to rule local club football and later became the first rural -based team to win the National Premier League.

After the name change, a number of the former players formed a club called North Gully Ambassadors, which gained promotion from the Division 2, to the Division 1, and then to the Senior League, where they got as far as the final, last season.

Less than a month ago, they decided to act on an idea that was born two years ago and requested a name change back to Seba, which the St James FA granted.

The team which had a less than auspicious start last Friday in the St James Football Association’s Captain’s Bakery and Grill, losing 3-0 to Lilliput Rovers, will have to be content with the name Seba Football Club for the time being, as the Seba United name is owned by Montego Bay businessman Orville Powell, who also owns Montego Bay United.

Whether it is FC or United, is not important however, at least not to the diehard fans who are behind the revival.

“It does not matter as long as we are Seba that’s all that matters, all of Jamaica will get to know us again,” said Neville Campbell, a former coach and player, who coached the team on Friday along with Edwin Alcock.

“We were a household name in all of Jamaica, we produced many great football players and we were the first rural team to win the Premier League, we can’t allow the Seba name to die.”

Lloyd ‘Cheeny’ Green, another former player told the Jamaica Observer West, that they planned to scout for players from the many high schools that are in the area- a number of which are coached by former Seba United players.

“This loss today is nothing, some of these players have not trained too long and this is a start, we will rebuild and the long term goal is to go after younger players.”

For Green, Seba FC is more than a sentimental name change, “right now the youths from the area (North Gully) need something to attach themselves and Seba can do it, having a team there will help to lower crime and give the youths things to do.”

Seba United won numerous St James FA leagues and knock- out titles, Premier League titles in 1986 and 1996, and produced a long list of national players, including Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis, Hector Wright, Stephen ‘Zabowl’ Thompson and Alton ‘Noah’ Sterling.