The Philippine Football Scene

With the UAAP and NCAA football season still a long way to go, the football scene here in Luzon is reduced to practice games, semi-pro tournaments and school competitions. That's how it is in the Philippines. Football is, for a lack of a better world, 'seasonal'. As a football player, I can see how the scarcity of football in the region. 

Unlike basketball, which is probably the highest in the Filipino's priorities when it comes to sports, football is really still in the 'baby stages'. It still is not able to break through the barrier and find its place in the lives of most Filipinos. There are those who are passionate about the sport but passion is not enough to push the sport to the top spots. 

Even though I said that Philippine football is still in the baby stages, there are recent efforts to popularize it. The establishment and launch of the Filipino Premier League, now just a semi-pro tournament, is one of the more recent accomplishments in the football scene here. Although the participants are mostly the ones in the NCAA and UAAP tournaments, it is still a good exposure for the sport of Football.

Here are the major contributors to the Philippine Football scene in the Luzon region.

1. University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The UAAP is one of the most sought out tournaments when the season begins. Sports range from Basketball, Football, all the way to Chess, and Fencing. It provides a suitable outlet for aspiring football players in various colleges to play for their respective schools. Teams from Ateneo de Manila University, De Lasalle Taft, University of the Philippines, University of the East,and from the Far Eastern University take part in it. Last year's champion was the team from the University of the Philippines. I played in the season 2 years ago, when the Ateneo Blue Eagle lost to FEU in the finals. (1-0)
2. National College Athletics Association (NCAA) The NCAA is pretty much like the UAAP but it caters to different schools. Schools that play in this tournament include San Beda, etc.
3. Palarong Pambansa Football - The Palarong Pambansa showcases the talents found in the different regions in the Philippines as it gives the regions a chance to boast their prowess in the field of sports. Sports include basketball (no duh), swimming, football, etc. This is, unfortunately for under 18 division only. The tournament usually starts during the middle of the -ber months and ends during March or April. Qualifying teams are flown to the sponsoring region to participate in the finals. I, luckily, was part of the National Capital Region team when I was still in third year highschool.
4. Rizal Football Association (RIFA) The Rizal Football Association is a tournament that targets players in grade school and high school. It starts from the Midgets D division (Grade 2-4 students) and ends with Candidates division in High School. (3rd-4th year High School). Schools that participate are the Ateneo, Xavier School, Claret, Lasalle Zobel, Southridge, etc. 
5. Alaska Cup The Alaska Cup is a yearly tournament that happens in Ayala Alabang. It is a friendly competition in the 7 aside format. Various teams compete in this tournament just to have fun. 
6. Filipino Premier League (FPL) The Filipino Premier League was the cultivation of the efforts of those who wanted to spearhead football into the mainstream. This is currently a semi-pro tournament, that showcases corporate, army, navy, private, and school teams. The first season got a pretty decent exposure as it extended Football's grasp towards more people, players and spectators alike.  

Also, here in the Philippines, the strategies employed in the football games have modernized too. There have been an increase in emphasis on attacking with the right and left fullbacks. This gives the attacking team the chance to load the goal area whil the left and right defenders run for the overlap to make the crucial cutback or cross.