Little Azkals to see action in Treadtel Cup

After their successful stint in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U13 Festival of Football in Sabah, Malaysia last June, the Philippine Boys U13 team will once again gather for this weekend’s 2011 Treadtel Cup at the Aboitiz Sportsfield in Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

The Little Azkals will be joining 57 teams coming from Cebu in this festival-type tournament organized by the Cebu Football Association.

U13 team head coach Oliver Colina said the move is part of the Philippine Football Federation’s  grassroots program, which falls under the grassroots and youth development committee headed by CFA president Richard Montayre.

“We wondered why our younger boys in the U13 could beat other countries but no longer do the same in the higher categories like U16 and we realized that this is because there is a lack of sustainability,” Montayre said.

In Sabah, the Little Azkals won three games, had three draws and four losses.

According to Montayre, they plan to keep the Little Azkals together for a year. Whatever the results will be used as one of the basis for the implementation of elite programs in all football associations of the PFF.

Montayre revealed that the long term goal of the Little Azkals is the U23 Qualifier for Qatar World Cup 2022.

For the whole year, the Little Azkals will be joining tournaments whenever possible and during school breaks, they will gather in Cebu for training.

The Little Azkals are no strangers to some of the teams competing in the Treadtel as they have played against some of them during their tune-up matches in their preparation for the Sabah tournament.

Some of the teams seeing action this weekend will be coming from Springdale, Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC), Canduman FC and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC), among others.