Students and members of the public drummed up excitement at the senior boys and girls football finals at the National Sports Centre yesterday.

While CedarBridge Academy emerged victors over the Berkeley Institute in both intense matches, young spectators on both sides enjoyed a morale-boosting break from their usual academic activities.

The Department of Education granted the students the day off so they could take part and support their peers.

Nikia Manders, leader for the arts at Berkeley, was excited for both schools.

“It’s great,” she told The Royal Gazette. “The school spirit brings support and builds morale. It’s very positive.”

Dazhja Greaves, Kamika Jackson and Nasaj Burgess said they had been playing football “forever”.

Nasaj said she would love to continue playing competitive football, but felt that girls “get the short end of the stick” when it came to funding and promoting the sport.

“It’s harder for us because we don’t have a proper league now that we’re older,” she said. “Girls tend to feel less interested in football as they grow older. We feel pushed to the side, so the interest we used to have drops.”

Spectator Eshe White said she would like to see more football events.

The matches are to be aired on the Digicel SportsMax channels on Bermuda CableVision, meaning local school football will be showcased to the wider Caribbean region.

• For match reports, see our sports section.