Friday, July 20, 2012
WONDER kid Sandro Reyes is now on a journey of a lifetime after getting signed by FC Barcelona�s academy and, as early as now, some are hyping him to be the next big thing in Philippine football.
I just hope the kid, who is just 9, will be able to handle the pressure and get to enjoy this very rare opportunity. I�m sure the scores of footie sites out there will be featuring regular Sandro Reyes updates once he joins the academy that has produced the likes of Lionel Messi and other world-class footballers.
Reyes�s selection, too, proves what local coaches have been saying all along given the right opportunity and training, our young players are at par with the rest of the world. It�s in the 16 and up age group that the gap widens.
I hope, too, that the PFF seriously considers a national tourney for the Under 12s, so the guys out there who don�t have the resources to travel to where the national team holds tryouts get the chance to play with the best young players of the country.
If you scour through the comment section every time there�s an announcement for a national tryout at a certain place, some poor dude would lash out�hey, what about our players?
A step-ladder tournament, where there will be local, provincial and region-wide elims, would give more players a chance to be discovered, unlike the select few in a tryout, don�t you think?
We sort of have a national tourney for this age group, but, sometimes, it�s poorly run and the welfare of the players isn�t what the organizers are primarily concerned about and I�m talking about the Palarong Pambansa.
A national tourney for the Under 12s would go a long way.
By the way, whatever happened to the plan to hold national tourneys for the Under 17s, Under 19s and Under 21 and what about the girls? Do we have a national tourney for them now that there are more girls into football?
It�s kind of ironic that in the time of Johnny Romualdez, we had national tournaments for both boys and girls and now that there�s more awareness for the sport, thanks to the Azkals, we don�t have any.
I could be wrong, of course, and I hope I�m wrong. I hope the PFF is cooking something for our young boys and girls aside from the usual tryouts they�re holding all over the country.
But between a tryout and a national tournament, I�d prefer one where more players get to join.
The PFF just held its Board of Governors meeting and I hope aside from drinking coffee and renewing the ties of the old boys� network, they got to talk about their plans for our young players, too.
And I hope, they got to talk about one other thing--putting up an official website.
It�s almost two years since football awareness grew by leaps and bounds because of the combination of two things--the Azkals� brilliant showing in the Suzuki Cup and the fans talking about it through the social media. But, sadly, we still don�t have an official website of the PFF.
There�s one for the national team but none for the PFF and they could use the site to announce whatever�s happening in the NSA, like, say, what happened in the latest BOG? (Unless, of course, they don�t want what happened in the BOG to come out?)
Here�s a curious fact. If you check the official site of the Asean Football
Federation, do you know what�s listed as the official online home of the PFF? Philfootball.info!
Man, it�s been years since Vince Arriola had that site. Philfootball.info, of course, is where the Azkals name was born and it surely isn�t the official site. (I�m pretty sure Vince is shaking his head on this one.)
Oh well, I hope it won�t take the next Azkal run before the PFF decides to put up one.
(www.cebufootball.blogspot.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 21, 2012.
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