The 40th staging of the Bell/Zaide football festival will be held on Heroes’ Day (October 20) at Winchester Park, St George’s College.

This year’s honourees will be Douglas Bell, Andrew Price, Neville Granville, Karl Tyrell and Ronald Watson.

Douglas Bell, the brother of Jackie Bell, is a former Kingston College, Harbour View, and Jamaican player widely regarded as one of, if not the best, schoolboy centre-halves of all time.

Price is a former St George’s College Manning Cup winner who played for Santos and Boys’ Town before turning to coaching and becoming assistant head coach of the Reggae Girlz team.

Granville is a former National player who represented Kingston Technical High and Lucas football club, while Tyrell is a former FIFA Referee.

Watson is an equipment manager of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) who served both Reggae Boyz and Reggae Girlz with a passion that elevates the position.

The participating teams are Master & Celebrities Invitational, Christian Ambassadors, St George’s College Invitational and Referees Invitational.

Conceptualiser of the event Clive “Busy” Campbell, a former Santos player, continued to honour football stalwarts since the death of footballing icons Jackie Bell and Dennis Zaide,  who both died in a bus accident while attending the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

He asked patrons at the launch to stand for a moment of silence for the sporting icons that passed this year.

“Since the start of 2025, we have lost four stalwarts in football in Jamaica. First it was Geoffrey Maxwell, a successful former player and coach of Excelsior High, various clubs and national teams,” noted Campbell.

He continued: “Gerry Murray, former KC All Manning and Real Mona FC player; Wilfred Vernon Bell, brother of Jackie Bell and former Manning Cup player for KC and Santos and Kenneth “Bop” Campbell, also known as Alonzo Hawk, former Vere Technical, Santos and National player”.

“Plus, just recently, Allan ‘Skill’ Cole, the youngest player who at age 16 years old represented Jamaica against a Brazilian team,” Campbell added.

“We also lost Mike McCallum, who was not a footballer but was one of Jamaica’s treasures who did us proud in his boxing career,” Campbell pointed out.

“Ladies and gentlemen, most, if not all of us, are at that stage in our lives where our health has to be a priority. Let’s face it, we are no longer the agile young men who used to grace the football fields across Jamaica. Some of us, due to fear of what we might hear, shun visiting the doctor and remain in the dark, when many ailments that lead to fatality could be avoided, said Campbell.

“I know this topic is not what we usually speak about, but I thought it prudent to appeal to our sports community and especially the men in our society, to get regular check-ups. It’s better to know what you have to deal with than be surprised when it may be too late,” he reiterated, noting that September is prostate cancer month.

The Bell/Zaide Football matches will be used to raise funds for charity, with proceeds going to the purchase of computers and printers for basic schools island-wide.

“To our sponsors, our sincere gratitude to you for always assisting, and we look forward to seeing you on Heroes’ Day, Monday, October 20,” said Campbell.