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| (L-R): Aboitiz Football Cup tournament director Edwin Alobin and organizer Rely San Agustin, LIMA Estate Vice President for Operations Clifford Academia (Image Source: Philippine News Agency/Aboitiz) |
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Aboitiz Football Cup, the country's longest running grassroots football tournament, returns on November 12-December 10, 2022 at the Aboitiz Pitch in LIMA Estate in Batangas. Now in its 22nd year, the Aboitiz Football Cup is back with greater interest on football with the recent success of the men’s and women’s national teams as well as seven-a-side football and futsal. This year’s Aboitiz Football Cup will feature 14 categories from mixed 7-under, mixed 9-under, mixed 11-under, mixed 13-under, boys 15-under, boys 17-under, boys 19-under, boys 23-under, mixed open, men’s open, women’s open, veterans 30-39, veterans 40-49 and veterans 50 and above. It will run every Saturday for the next 5 weeks.
“The success of the Aboitiz Football Cup has been its grassroots program where kids can fulfill their football dreams as they go up the football pyramid. With the Aboitiz Football Cup back in season, this is a healthy sign for the game and staying fit and healthy with life getting back to a sense of normalcy after the lockdown,” said tournament organizer and former national player Rely San Agustin. For Philippine Air Force (PAF) playing coach Joebel Bermejo who himself is a former national player who was a part of the Philippines’ breakout Azkals side of 2010, “Para sa Philippine Air Force (PAF), malaking bagay na kasama kami sa Aboitiz Football Cup kung saan kami nag-champion nung 2018. Magandang memories para sa amin kasi pagkatapos ng Aboitiz Cup 'yung ibang players namin nag-retire on a good note.”
If some players went out with a bang, others came away noticed. One of them is current Azkals Development Team forward Andres Aldeguer. The tournament is also where other former players continue playing even if they have moved to other fields. Case in point: actor and model Jao Mapa who played for the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the UAAP, and today, for Kapamilya United (ABS-CBN) in the Aboitiz Football Cup where they won the Mixed Open Division in 2018. “I try to participate and play football as much as I can. Tournaments like the Aboitiz Football Cup allow people like me to continue to play and live out our football dreams even if we are professionals in other fields," said Mapa of his love for football. The return of the Aboitiz Football Cup this season also anticipates intensified bootcamps for both young football enthusiasts and sports teachers in Batangas province. “The Aboitiz Football Cup has been a great arena to gather professionals and football enthusiasts alike. We saw that opportunity to use this season's 5 festival days and additional 3 non-festival days as training sessions for community kids in Malvar, Batangas. This 8-day football clinic provides the community kids a chance to meet and play with some of our successful football players and drive inspiration from their values and experiences. Looking ahead, we wanted to give them a chance to experience a football festival, and hopefully next year, participate in quality competition," said LIMA Estate Vice President for Operations Clifford Academia.
With Philippine football official Edwin Alobin serving as tournament director, the Aboitiz Football Cup will also highlight skills training and capability building for coaches and referees from local schools and communities through its 2-day referee course and events management training sessions. “The objective for this is to teach the laws of the game to others so they can organize tournaments in their community,” said San Agustin. Interested parties who wish to participate in the 22nd Aboitiz Football Cup can send their inquiries to info@rsa1group.com or to send SMS to +639177025952.
