Mabouya Valley retain Saint Lucia U12 boys football title with win over Desruisseaux

Mabouya Valley have been crowned Saint Lucia Football Association Under-12 Boys' champions for a second consecutive year after beating Desruisseaux 2-0 in Saturday's final at the SLFA Technical Centre in Grande Riviere, Dennery. The victory means the Valley side has now completed three full seasons without losing a single match in regulation time, a run that has few parallels in youth sport in Saint Lucia.

As reported by St. Lucia Times, the decisive contribution came from midfielder Zackin François, whose two second-half goals settled a contest that had remained in the balance deep into the second period. François opened the scoring in the 38th minute, then struck again six minutes later, rounding Desruisseaux goalkeeper Jerlani Neptune, who was later named the tournament's best keeper.

What makes the achievement more striking is that Mabouya Valley arrived at this year's final with only two players returning from the squad that won the title twelve months earlier. The rest of the group was essentially new, yet the side reproduced the same winning habit, with François again the driving force.

The young midfielder swept the individual honours. His eight goals across the tournament tied Gros Islet's Keemany Ferdinand for the Golden Boot, and he added the awards for best midfielder and most valuable player. It was a fitting farewell, as this was his third and final year at the age level. Defender Zaied Willie, his schoolmate at Richfond Combined School, repeated as the competition's best defender.

For Mabouya Valley, the result completes a remarkable three-year arc at this age group. In 2024 they were denied in the final only by Canaries on penalties, losing in a shoot-out after the match itself ended level. Last year they beat Vieux Fort 3-0 in regulation to take the crown, with François scoring the third goal. This season's win over Desruisseaux, again inside normal time, confirms the depth behind their success.

Desruisseaux, whose goalkeeper Neptune earned the best keeper award despite defeat, will reflect on a final in which they held firm for well over an hour before François broke through. Their run to the final itself represents a strong season for the southern community side.

The third-place play-off produced the drama of the weekend. Marchand fought back from 3-0 down at half-time against Gros Islet to level the match at 3-3, then won it on penalties. Gros Islet had built their lead through goals from Lionel Hippolyte and Keemany Ferdinand, along with an own goal from Keegan Joseph, while Marchand's second-half recovery was driven by Jamal Edward, Messiah John and Keylan St Juste.

Tournaments like this one sit at the grassroots of the game on an island where football runs through community life from a young age. The Saint Lucia Football Association's technical centre at Grande Riviere in Dennery has become the regular home for these age-group finals, giving children from the Mabouya Valley, Desruisseaux, Marchand, Gros Islet and beyond the experience of playing a proper final on a proper stage.

That junior structure also matters to visitors who follow the game. Football is part of everyday life on the island, from village pitches on a Sunday afternoon to the national programme, and travelling supporters of the English game have been taking notice. With Saint Lucia now the official destination partner of a major Premier League club from the start of the 2026/27 season, interest from the United Kingdom in the island's football culture is expected to grow, and holidays to St Lucia increasingly include catching a local match alongside the beach time.

Families considering family holidays in St Lucia will find plenty beyond the youth game, of course, and the timing of a trip can be shaped around it, since the dry months from December through April are generally regarded as the best time to visit St Lucia for sport, festivals and outdoor activities alike. Junior football finals like Saturday's are often played in front of an enthusiastic crowd of parents and neighbours, and visitors are usually welcome to watch.

Where to stay depends on the sort of trip being planned. There is a wide range of hotels in St Lucia, from family-run guesthouses near the fishing villages to luxury hotels in St Lucia's resort belts at Rodney Bay, Cap Estate and the Soufrière coast. Many families base themselves on the east coast, close to Dennery, where the landscape is greener and the pace of life slower than the north-west tourist strip.

Getting there is straightforward, with direct flights to St Lucia from London during the winter season landing at Hewanorra International Airport in the south of the island, barely half an hour's drive from the ground where Mabouya Valley lifted the trophy. Whether the Valley boys can make it three titles in a row, and whether François's generation goes on to the senior national programme, will become clear as this crop moves up the age groups, and the association's calendar of youth competitions resumes in the new season.