Musings
Musings
Here’s a weird thought I had after the World Cup finals.
Fans = football league = success.
Without the fans, any league what so ever will go the way of the dodo.
But, what, I ask, kind of fan will stick to his team if the team is a.) known for Manny Pacquiasque moves, b.) a prima donna c.) cheats or d.) you-won’t-let-us-play-then-we-will-no-longer-join-any-of-your-tournaments kind of team?
This year’s Aboitiz Men’s League will have the luxury (and I do mean every essence of the word) of not having its defending champion back.
So I say, ditch the Men’s League.
The Association will save time, money and a whole bunch of headache-pills for that.
What, I say, should we put up in place of the Men’s League?
A school-based league. (Plus the other clubs who are not associated with any schools like FC Inter Cebu, San Roque FC)
A school league –- or more precisely – a high school league -- would have been great, imagine the rivalry between schools, spilling over the football field – minus the Manny Pacquiao-wannabes of course.
Most of the schools have football fields – a home and away format could be doable.
Those who make the most noise in Cebu are the men’s team, and not one of them has even won a national crown. Look at our youth teams, we have a Palarong Pambansa champion, various football festivals champions, and the like.
The talent is there.
So much effort and money is wasted on the Men’s League – money and effort that could (and should) be better utilized for better football – the youth.
A high school footballer sacrifices more than his college counterpart and they are more disciplined. Giving them a league of their own would be a reward to their sacrifice and discipline.
And one more thing, everybody in Philippine football is saying that the youth is the future, then why not start now and give that future a toehold?
Here’s a weird thought I had after the World Cup finals.
Fans = football league = success.
Without the fans, any league what so ever will go the way of the dodo.
But, what, I ask, kind of fan will stick to his team if the team is a.) known for Manny Pacquiasque moves, b.) a prima donna c.) cheats or d.) you-won’t-let-us-play-then-we-will-no-longer-join-any-of-your-tournaments kind of team?
This year’s Aboitiz Men’s League will have the luxury (and I do mean every essence of the word) of not having its defending champion back.
So I say, ditch the Men’s League.
The Association will save time, money and a whole bunch of headache-pills for that.
What, I say, should we put up in place of the Men’s League?
A school-based league. (Plus the other clubs who are not associated with any schools like FC Inter Cebu, San Roque FC)
A school league –- or more precisely – a high school league -- would have been great, imagine the rivalry between schools, spilling over the football field – minus the Manny Pacquiao-wannabes of course.
Most of the schools have football fields – a home and away format could be doable.
Those who make the most noise in Cebu are the men’s team, and not one of them has even won a national crown. Look at our youth teams, we have a Palarong Pambansa champion, various football festivals champions, and the like.
The talent is there.
So much effort and money is wasted on the Men’s League – money and effort that could (and should) be better utilized for better football – the youth.
A high school footballer sacrifices more than his college counterpart and they are more disciplined. Giving them a league of their own would be a reward to their sacrifice and discipline.
And one more thing, everybody in Philippine football is saying that the youth is the future, then why not start now and give that future a toehold?
Comments
essentially a "school league" but it still should be age-group based.
i would go for tournament type format for all age-groups. before favoritism and politics took over cebufootball, each age-group had their own tournament, not just festivals. i would have the football season within the school year - june to febuary. everything should end before march so that the kids can focus on final exams.
local eleven a side tournament format for the following age groups :
1. boys12 (elementary) - in preparation for the Palarong Pambansa and it's qualifying tournaments and for the PFF under14 training pool.
2. boys15 - in preparation for PFF under14 and under16 training pool.
3. boys under16 - in preparation for PFF under16 and under17
4. boys17 (high school) - in preparation for Palarong Pambansa and it's qualifying tournaments, PRISAA and PFF under19.
5. ladies under17 - in preparation for PFF under17
five and seven a side tournament format for the following age groups :
1. player8 and player9 for boys and girls
2. girls12
3. girls14
way way way way back, when it was still called the CFA Cup, we practically had a home and away format. game venues included don bosco punta princesa, don bosco lawaan, st.louis mandaue, san roque, pope john seminary, USC-boys high, abellana national high, MEPZ field, bohemian field in talamban, CIS in banilad, cebu country club in banilad, mactan air base field, easy visayan academy, basak elementary school, labangon elementary school and Apo Cement field in Naga.
the mini, midget, aspirant and juniors divisions played simultaneuosly. schools and clubs were forced to discover and develop more players because fielding a midget player in the aspirants division was difficult because games on both divisions were played at the same time. that was one reason why there were a lot of players.
there were no shortage of sponsors. San Miguel Corp., General Milling Corp, William Lines, TIMEX, Durano Group of companies, Norkis Trading and Apo Cement are just few of the big businesses who supported the sport. there were many officers and workers of these companies who once played, as well as sons or grandsons of the owners who played the game.
but back to the question - should the CebuFA make do without a Men's open in the Aboitiz Cup.
my answer - NO.
the kids need to see that there is football after high school. they need to see that they can still play either competitively or recreationally after college. they need to see that see that a Cebu Football League is possible within their lifetime.
what needs to be done is to organize mens football like it is a business. gather all clubs and form a board of directors with representatives from each team. let them select a chairman of the board who will in turn handle the day to day activities of the league directly or thru a managing team.
the men's league should be self-supporting, thus tournament and membership fees should be collected. i wrote about this in this blog quite a few times and even included some financial figures that could be used as a basis for determining the fees.
the key here is the acceptance of mens teams that fees sufficient to support ALL financial obligations MUST be collected.
the league will have to be sanctioned by the PFF, it's rules and regulations approved by the PFF, but it's sanctions, penalties, sponsorship policies, transfer polices etc. should be determined and approved by the majority of the board of directors.
Mike, this concept is nothing new. it has been proposed over and over again but only on the sidelines and among a few. for it to be seriously considered as a cure to our sickness, it has to be discussed by the football leaders and by those with a genuine stake on cebufootball.
JUST ANOTHER FESTIVAL !!!!!!!!
Schools and clubs are spending large amounts, not to mention the parents, to train their varsities and kids because they know fully well that full size tournaments is the best way to improve cebufootball.
AND THE ONLY THING OUR CEBUFOOTBALL LEADERS CAN COME UP WITH IS ONE DAY OF SEVEN A SIDE MATCHES FOR THE WHOLE YEAR !!!!
I guess, I also agree with Ronaldo that there should be a Mens league, like what he said kids needs something to look forward to... "Soccer after high school/college". I myself loose interest in football when I was about to graduate..... There's not a fuck'n professional league.... and plenty of Red Horse to drink. People love basketball so much even if were not good at the sport. internationally.... Unless they export our gold digger women to the US or import sex maniac from the US, then we can play hoops with them.
the private schools already has several tournaments - CESAFI for collegiate and high school (boys17) - with plans to expand to elementary (boys12). the Department of education (DepEd) has the Palarong Pambansa and it's qualifying tournaments, but it is also limited to elementary and high school squads.
the in between age groups - under14, under16, players8-10 - has no inter-school tournaments.
the basic principle of a school league should include competition among all age-groups. but it is dependent on the individual schools because they first have to have a football program as part of their PE curriculum. as far as the enforcement of such a policy is concerned, that is were the local FA's should step in and encourage the schools to have football as an integral part of their PE system.
as far as DepEd and CHED tournaments go, there is no under16 tournament.
Sambag football leaders may have professed blind loyalty to their Japanese neighbor but they are not going to allow their age-group teams not to participate in tournaments or festivals - sanctioned or not. football is too deep-rooted in Sambag for that to happen.
funny that CebuFA officials issued statements saying that their "boycott of CebuFA sanctioned and organized festivals and tournaments" includes the age-groups. it just shows how completely out of touch they are as far as other schools, clubs and teams are concerned. a simple trip to Sambag that would have only cost them a few liters of gasoline or diesel would have stopped them from issueing such statements. even a simple phone call to the proper people would have been sufficient.
you may not personally like them and disagree with their policies but as leaders of cebufootball, it is your duty and responsibility to seek them out. this is not about bending backwards for primadonnas or kneeling before lesser beings - it's about serving your constituents and finding out what they expect from you.
i just opened SunStar Online and read about the CebuFA girls under17 team. it's again frustrating to see them fuss about a team formed thru favoritism and affiliation rather than one formed thru genuine try-outs and skills.
recent news about local and national football has really made me lose hope for philippine football. the politics in the PFF for the right to control the millions alloted for football and the blatant "garapal" favoritism being displayed locally contributes to my post world-cup depression.
I've seen maxi's girl play, she aint the best, but i think she deserved a spot in the u17, besides the u17 that will be fielded in the women's open, hasnt been formed yet. and its the coaches call, not maxis.
anyway, dont destroy a girl's dream of playing football, whatever issues you have with maxi, stick it to him, and not hit on innocent bystanders, who just happen to play the game will you?
if you thought that im against maximos kid, well im sorry because i too have seen her play and she is good but im just saying that the oppurtunity for others girls to play isnt so big
guys i really need your help coz you know a lot about football particularly in Cebu. i'm doing a research about philippine football but i lack of ideas on about phil. football. maybe you could give me some ideas. my topic focuses on what should be the development in philippine football to be qualified in FIFA (does it sounds impossible?) after so many years.
please i need your ideas. you can e-mail me at princesstech13@yahoo.com
please please
i need it before the mid of august.... thank you very much!!!!!!!!!
and please indicate your name and what team you are in if your a football player or stuff.... thanks
princess