No room for cheats in Cebu f’ball
AGE-CHEATING hit Cebu big time when it hosted the 1996 Coke-Go-For-Goal national finals and no, the Cebuanos didn’t cheat. It was a year before I got into the local sportswriting scene, but even in 1997, it was still the talk of the town.
You see, despite hosting the event, Cebu City didn’t get to field a team in the tournament as its protest against one team, which they accused of fielding an over-aged player in the 16-Under tournament. Disappointed that the Philippine Football Federation allowed that team to play, the host boycotted it. A year later, the PFF threatened to move the football competition of the Philippine National Games to Dumaguete City from Cebu, citing a lack of venue, but the CFA suspected it was in retaliation for the boycott.
Over the years, there have been stories of age cheating by some rogue coaches, but since the mid-2000s, during local football’s boom, the incidents are becoming rare since the local community basically knows everyone else and they’d easily spot any player who doesn’t belong to his age group. Just imagine, you face the same players starting at the P7 division, so when you reach the Boys 13 or Boys 15 age group, you’d easily know if someone is cheating if the guy you played against as a seven-year-old is still playing in the 11-year-old bracket.
The CFA, too, has been trying to professionalize the local coaching scene, encouraging them to earn their licenses (sometimes, with the CFA shouldering the fee). These licenses, which aren’t easy to earn, will be lost once a coach cheats.
Which is what could happen to one coach in the Sun.Star Football Cup, who fielded ineligible players in the PLayers 11 division.
Over the years, we’ve made sure to hold our event under the auspices of the CFA, so coaches conduct will be monitored. A couple of years ago, I warned a coach that he could face a ban if he’s unsportsmanlike conduct continues.
Since then, he’s been on his best behavior in our tournaments.
After learning of the incident, I filed a report at the CFA and president Ricky Dakay promises to tackle the matter in their next board meeting. We have also decided to impose a three-year ban on the coach in our tournament, to teach him a lesson.
We don’t tolerate cheating and there really is no room for coaches like that in our tournament. Besides, what do you get from it? You win an event with a lineup of “ineligible” players someone will always cry foul, so why do it?