Flurry of football festivals sign of new momentum of soccer in PHL

This third weekend of November, 100 football teams gathered in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to compete in the 2011 Hyundai Next Generation Manila Cup Football Festival. Distributed among ten divisions or groupings, teams fielded seven players at a time per match at the Greenfield City Sports Field. Over the past several months since the success of the men’s national football team—the Azkals—in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup, football festivals and training camps were held in various areas nationwide. Among them are the football festivals in Tarlac last May, the Philippine Army’s in June, and Zamboanga’s last October. The European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) Football Cup drew participation from 25 teams. The Palarong Pambansa, held last May in Dakak, Zamboanga del Norte, has long had football among the competition events it stages. The Northern Mindanao contingent emerged as champions in football this year. Last August, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) Smart Club Championships saw members of the men's national team dispersed to regional teams with players from local clubs. The NCR Teknika FC clinched the title. Indoor soccer or futsal is also part of the wave of interest in football sweeping across the country. Aside from the Philippine Futsal League, the Philippine Stock Exchange also joined the futsal wave. Street soccer or futkal (futbol sa kalye) competitions have also been held in Quezon City, Manila and other localities. Emergence of more community clubs In the second weekend of November, the Alaska Football Cup (AFC) was staged for the 16th time since 1995. "Every 30 minutes, we have 25 games. That is the capacity of the football field here in Ayala Alabang," AFC project director Tomas Lozano said in an interview with GMA News Online. "When we started, we had 20 teams. Now we have 290 teams. Back then we had 20 percent clubs and 80 percent schools... National team captain Aly Borromeo played about 10 times of the 16 years we have been doing this." Lozano recalled. He is of the perception that "there has not been much change" in football in the country. "It's been good for the last 10 to 20 years," Lozano said. But he did notice two new developments in the 16-year history of the AFC. "Now we have have 90 percent clubs and 10 percent schools. More football is now happening outside the schools, among the communities," Lozano noted. "We also have more teams from Mindanao. We have 25 teams from Davao. Bukidnon won yesterday (Nov. 12) in the boys 12 category. They came from the Del Monte school in Bukidnon," he added. In Lozano's eyes, football has to be embraced by more Filipinos in the communities to gain more momentum and develop. "We have so many kids interested in football. Unfortunately, there is no avenue for them to become professional players. The kids in school, after they graduate, we lose them because they have nowhere else to go," Lozano said. The country has a semi-professional United Football League (UFL) which used to have only 16 teams but has expanded this year to 28 teams. Many national team members are players in several UFL clubs. Lozano, a former professional football player from Spain, also noted that in the provinces, community involvement in football is more pronounced, "but the leaders are the schools. Clubs will be the growth, not the schools." His assessment is that the Philippines is a school-oriented country. "But what about the Philippines? The Philippines should be first! The difference between the Philippines and other countries is that abroad, school and clubs go hand-in-hand," Lozano said. A call for more football fields Lozano would also like to see more football fields in the country and noted that most of the good football fields are in the schools, while community players have few options. The UFL felt this acute lack in football venues in Metro Manila this month. With the visit of the LA Galaxy from the United States' Major League Soccer, the management of the Rizal football stadium had to advise the UFL to play elsewhere for a while and then return after the friendly between David Beckham's team and the Azkals. The UFL had access to the Nomads field in southern Metro Manila, but there is an ongoing rugby tournament there, so only the University of Makati football field is available to the UFL for now. — ELR, GMA News