MONTEGO BAY, St James — Two schools — Belmont Academy in Westmoreland and Sydney Pagon High in St Elizabeth — will debut in the ISSA daCosta Cup football competition when the 2018 season kicks off next month.

The two schools have been taking part in the ISSA junior football competitions for the last few years and will make the step up this season.

Belmont Academy will play in Zone D alongside the Westmoreland schools, while Sydney Pagon High will play in the tough Zone E in the first round.

The competition is set to start on September 8 with daCosta Cup champions Rusea’s High and Manning Cup winners Jamaica College kicking off their defence at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall.

Despite a number of schools that took part last year not returning this season, including four schools from Zone D, there will be more schools taking part this year than last year as six schools will return to the competition following absences for at least one season.

Eighty-eight schools are down to contest the first round, in 15 zones, more than the 86 that started the competition last year.

Former champions Godfrey Stewart, Grange Hill, Black River High and Maud McLeod High, all from Zone D, will not take part this year.

Merlene Ottey High, which last participated in the 2015 competition, are back and will replace Knockalva Technical, who go to the depleted Zone D.

Sydney Pagon High’s placement in Zone E results in BB Coke returning to Zone F where they last played in the 2016 season.

The other schools retuning are Kellits High in Zone H, Tacky High in Zone J, Tacius Golding High in Zone K, Annotto Bay in Zone L and Winston Jones to Zone M, while Cross Keys were also shifted to Zone M.

— Paul Reid