Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manila: Selection for the Philippines’ team is currently in full swing for the AFC U-14 Festival of Football ASEAN region which will take place in Malaysia on May 21-June3, 2012.
Provincial Cebu Football Association has contributed among the biggest group of hopefuls with eight players from their U-14 squad chosen to go through selection.
Candidates were also taken from the Don Bosco Technology Center, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, University of Southern Philippine Foundation, Abellana National School, Negros Oriental Football Association, Negros Occidental Football Association, Iloilo Football Association and Leyte Football Association.
The candidates were part of the 29 players whom Boys’ U-14 head coach Oliver “BingBing” Colina scouted from the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) Boys U-14/Girls U-13 Visayas Regional Festival of Football in San Carlos City in February.
Some of the candidates were formerly members of the Philippine U-13 national youth team better known as “Little Azkals”.
While they have been featuring in the Philippine U-14 team this year, Colina is not going to give them free tickets to the U-14 team who will be in action in the festival in Malaysia.
“Being members of the Philippine U-13 will not mean that they will get an automatic entry to the Philippine U-14 official lineup,” he said.
“I’m bringing the selection back to zero. They will have to prove their worth to give chance to others who may be more deserving to be part of the team.
“This way, they will also continue to play at their best level and they will not be complacent,” added Colina, who along with his staff, continued their scouting in other PFF regional football festivals in Iligan and Laguna this month.
The players will then undergo evaluation and be trimmed down to 30 for the training pool after the selection process is over, from which the eventual 22 will form the official lineup for the AFC festival.
Apart from the Philippines, the AFC’s annual youth educational and playing event for ASEAN will feature teams from Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Timor Leste, Australia and Vietnam.
Qatar organised the first festival for this year on February 12-25 for the West region, to be followed by the Central festival in Pakistan on April 2-15. The event will then move to China for the East region on April 16-29 while teams from the South region will compete in Nepal on May 10-25.