Little Azkals to take part in PFF-Smart tournament

THE LITTLE Azkals left for Cagayan de Oro yesterday to take part in a series of friendly games as part of the ongoing Philippine Football Federation (PFF)-Smart Club Championships.

Their big brothers, the Azkals, are also seeing action in the competition.

Head coach Oliver Colina said seeing action in the friendly games is part of the Little Azkals’ continued training under the PFF program, which falls under the grassroots and youth development committee headed by Richard Montayre, who is also the Cebu Football Association (CFA) president.

Montayre revealed in an earlier interview that the long-term goal of the Little Azkals is the U23 Qualifier for Qatar World Cup 2022.

He said they plan to keep the team together for a year to bolster its sustainability. The team is comprised of players from Cebu, National Capital Region (NCR), Cagayan de Oro, Davao City , Dumaguete City , and Dipolog.

Whenever possible pending school obligations, the Little Azkals will gather in Cebu for training for the whole year. This has been agreed between Montayre, Colina and the parents of the Little Azkals.

Because of its accessibility, it was decided to make Cebu as the training ground.

The Little Azkals had one international stint via the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U13 Festival of Football in Sabah Malaysia last June, wherein they won three games, had three draws and four losses.

They also played in the recently held 2011 Treadtel Cup, where they finished runner-up in the boys-14 category after losing to the Don Bosco Technology Center.  CORRESPONDENT MARS G. ALISON