PFF’s grassroot program seen to draw more help

The Philippine Football Federation’s (PFF) plan of implementing a fully functioning grassroots program got a boost with the third-place finish of the Philippine Under 14 team tagged as the Little Azkals in the recently held Japan-East Asean Football Exchange Programme U-14 Youth Football Festival in Osaka, Japan.

Richard Montayre, who heads the PFF grassroots and youth development committee and also the team manager of the Little Azkals, said that the success of the U-14 team should attract sponsors who could help fund the PFF grassroots program.

“All we need to do is to prove to them that we can excel in the sport so that’s why the U-14 needs to show them that we are capable,” said Montayre.

Last year, the PFF decided to adopt the grassroots program proposed by Montayre. The program  underscored a partnership between the provincial football associations (PFAs), Department of Education and Local Government Units that introduced football at the grassroots level and create youth teams in the barangay level.

The program emphasized the importance of developing grassroots coaching methods in the PFAs for the purpose of developing elite players in each provincial association who will eventually form elite teams via the Center for Excellence (CFE) program and then see action via grassroots and youth competitions in the local, regional and national level.

Through these competitions, talents will be identified to formulate national youth teams who will be placed under a continuous program and eventually advance into the senior men’s team or become an Azkal and represent the country in international competitions.

The Little Azkals is the pilot project of this program.

Montayre said that he volunteered to manage the Little Azkals to personally put his proposal to a test and see if it works.

The program, however, will not be easy to pull off without funding.

The Philippine Games and Amusement Corporation has given P20 million to the ongoing Kasibulan Football Grassroots Development Program, another PFF grassroots program also aimed at identifying talents for the CFE.

The CFE will be set up later this year once all 33 PFAs have implemented the Kasibulan project.

Montayre said that P60 million is needed annually for the implementation of the CFE and the national youth teams in both girls and boys category.

With all Grassroots Development Officers (GDOs) in place and some PFAs having already implemented the Kasibulan project, the country will soon have a pool of players who will follow the footsteps of the Little Azkals. CORRESPONDENT MARS G. ALISON