CEBU’S ELITE READY FOR VISAYAS’ BEST

Cebu Football Association sends four elite teams to PFF Festival of Football Tournament serves as selection process for national youth teams Cebu to compete vs. NegOr, Eastern Visayas, Iloilo, and Neg Occidental

Four Cebu Elite teams are seeing action against the best of Visayas in the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) 2017 Regional Festival of Football (FOF)-Visayas today and tomorrow in San Carlos City.

The Cebu Football Associa- tion (CFA) formed four teams composed of Cebu’s best Boys Under-13, Girls Under-13, Boys Under-15 and Girls Under-15 footballers to compete against Visayas football associations - Eastern Visayas FA, Negros Oriental FA, Iloi- lo FA and Negros Occidental FA.

“The Cebu Elite teams are ready for the FOF. Despite their regular schedules, we are thankful to all teams for making their players available for practice and the FOF proper. This is one way the CFA can be united for a specific task. We are also thankful to the Cebu Provincial Sports Commission for their support,” the CFA said in a statement.

For this year, the Boys Under 13 team will be led by Ray Calo of Don Bosco Technological Center, while the Boys Under 15 team is headed by Epifanio Ynot of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.

For the girls teams, Roseton Barinan heads the U15, while Joanna Sabid heads the U13.

The Boys and Girls Under-13 divisions will compete in nine-aside tournaments, while the Boys and Girls Under-15 categories will play in full 11-a-side competitions.

The FOF serves as a scouting ground for national team coaches to choose some of the best in the tournament to sign up in the national training pool.

The competition won’t follow the usual format as the festival hopes to see all players in action. For the U13, a nine- on-nine competition, the first 20 minutes will be for the first nine, while the second 20 minutes will be for the second team. A “third half ” lasting 30 minutes will feature the best nine players of each team.

For the 15-Under division, an 11 vs. 11 competition, the first 20 minutes will have eight players from the first team plus three chosen by the staff. The second 20 minutes will be for eight second-stringers plus another three, while the final 30 minutes will be for the best 11 players. /

CONTRIBUTED FOTO / JOHN SOON READY FOR THE VISAYAS. After weeks of practice, the best 15-Under and 13-Under players of Cebu will face their counterparts from the Visayas in the PFF Festival of Football.