Yellow Cab, Kaya champion ‘right way’ in football tourney
FINDING a commonality in doing things the “right way,” pizza chain Yellow Cab and United Football League team Kaya FC have banded together to stage the first-ever Yellow Cab Football Cup.
Slated for Oct. 15 and 22 at the Gatorade Blue Pitch, Circuit Makati, the Yellow Cab Football Cup is the groups’ way of furthering the development of grassroots football in the country and reaching out to the youth through sports while at the same time using it as an opportunity to help others in need.
The Cup will have six categories divided into age groups. The six winners who will emerge get to bag a total of P120,000 which they will donate to their chosen charitable institutions.
“As a group we look at it (tournament) as a way for MGI to have young people experience life lessons through sports that they can use later on in life like integrity, respect and perseverance,” said Jim Fuentebella, chief marketing officer and board of director of Max’s Group, Inc. (MGI), Yellow Cab Pizza Co.’s parent firm, in an interview with businessworld during the Cup’s media launch last week.
“Long and short of it we see Filipinos doing well in football. We have a lot of talent in it and just needed to be tapped. You don’t need height to be good at it. You don’t necessarily need paved surfaces to play in for it,” he added as to the reason why they chose football as a platform.
For his part, MGI President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Trota said the Cup is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR) thrust which they value and take seriously.
“Definitely it is part of our CSR which is in our DNA as a group. This is for the millennials, a grassroots sports program that hopefully can inspire them in life and keep them away from bad habits as well as give opportunities for children of all levels,” Mr. Trota said in a separate interview.
“We want to give back to the communities that we cater to,” he added.
As for their partnership with Kaya, which they have been a team sponsor for a year now, it was a perfect match, the MGI officials said.
“With Kaya we found a group that we share similar values with, foremost of which is giving back to the community. Also we champion doing things the right way whether it is doing business on our part and playing the game on them,” Mr. Fuentebella said.
It is a sentiment seconded by Kaya General Manager Paul Tolentino who said during the launch, “Partners are quite difficult for us to find since football is a fairly young sport in the Philippines. It’s great that Yellow Cab opened up this opportunity, because here’s a brand that is genuinely interested in sports and even shares the same values for giving back like we do. With the massive support of the Max’s Group, we’re able to help more kids, and give more of them the chance to play.”
Mr. Fuentebella said Yellow Cab is inclined to be a player in community development via sports.
“Yellow Cab is known for doing things unconventionally. As a brand it has the ability to adapt to what is at the cusp. In football there are already a lot of teams and tournaments around but it’s not enough. When we do things we make sure we are in it for the long haul. To sustain and nurture what we have started,” said Mr. Fuentebella, whose son plays for Kaya’s U-13 team.
The Yellow Cab Football Cup, which happens on the 20th year of Kaya’s founding, will have its elimination round on Oct. 15 and those qualifying for the semifinals and finals return on Oct. 22. Interested teams have until Sept. 25 to register.
For more information on the registration and other particulars, log ontohttp://www. yellow cab pizza. com/ yellow-cab foot ball-cup-registration/