TRYOUTS SET FOR STREET CHILD WORLD CUP 2018

FAIRPLAY For All (FFA) Foundation is set to hold tryouts for the Philippine squad that will join the Street Child World Cup 2018, which will kick off ahead of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) World Cup in Russia.

Trials for players living in Metro Manila will be held on November 19 at the Sparta Training Arena in Mandaluyong City.

FFA Foundation, a non-profit organization helping street kids in Payatas, Quezon City mainly through football activities, will look for 12 players who are eligible to join the international tournament.

Candidates must be female booters, 17 years old below (specifically born between June 2000 and 2003) and have experienced living and/ or working on the streets, which suits the United Na- tion’s definition of a street child.

The Philippines will send a girls’ squad only to the third edition of the international conference and competition.

“For 2018, we want to focus on the girls’ team. Flights and costs in Moscow are expensive, so we will send one team only there and focus instead on funding sustainable programs here in order to help in bringing positive change in communities,” Roy Moore, founder of FFA Foundation, told The Manila Times in an online interview.

Prior to the Manila leg of the tryouts, FFA Foundation had already scouted in various provinces.

“We don’t want this team to be comprised by our girls from Payatas only. Because it’s Team Philippines, we’ve opened the scouting to other groups across the country as well to truly represent the diverse experiences and issues of life on the streets,” said Moore.

The British national also stressed the significance of participating in the tournament, which is expected to welcome over 200 street children from 24 national teams next year.

“It’s important for us to join because it’s a great way of showing how much potential our street kids have,” shared Moore.

“With the right support, we can really achieve so much. We want to show on and off the pitch that the poor people are not the problem but rather the solution,” he added.

In the previous installment of the international tourney hosted by Brazil in 2014, the Philippines reached the finals of the girls’ division and finished on the second place among nine teams.