The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) on Saturday said the schedule of the 2011 Palarong Pambansa hampered preparations of the country’s national youth team for international matches next month in Sabah, Malaysia.
At the first Philippine National Football Conference held in Manila, Oliver Colina, coach of the national under-13 boys’ team, said the PFF will coordinate with the Department of Education (DepEd) to work out ways to make the training program free from any conflict of schedule.
Colina reported on the preparations for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) annual Festival of Football on May 14, first day of the 1st Philippine National Football Conference at San Beda College in Mendiola, Manila.
The Little Azkals should ideally have six solid weeks of preparations before the AFC Festival of Football, according to Colina.
The Little Azkals should ideally have six solid weeks of preparations before the AFC Festival of Football, according to Colina.
He said the training program focuses on tactics, technique, physical conditioning, and mental attitude. Colina said the talent search for young football players should be expanded to include 11-year-olds, so the PFF will have more time to develop them as Little Azkals. [See related story: PHL football program gets windfall]
Few were chosen
The PFF efforts to form the Little Azkals team began last March with four tryouts, one each for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Metro Manila. The search yielded 74 talents, eventually trimmed down to some 30 lads, Colina said.
Few were chosen
The PFF efforts to form the Little Azkals team began last March with four tryouts, one each for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Metro Manila. The search yielded 74 talents, eventually trimmed down to some 30 lads, Colina said.
However, when the PFF training camp for the AFC Festival of Football started, only 17 showed up because the others were prepping for the Palarong Pambansa, which ran from May 8 to 14 in Dapitan City.
The Festival of Football, held every June, is a key component of the AFC’s Grassroots and Youth football development program.
Football coaches compare notes
The conference had in attendance football coaches and players from various parts of the country. Of keen interest to them are the presentations on grassroots development by John Carmona from Cebu and Masao Nakayama of Japan.
International resource persons came from Malaysia and Japan to share their experiences and insights on grassroots and youth football development.
Malaysia’s national football team coach Krishnasamy Rajagopal is one of the foreign speakers. Also at the forum was Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad, who had served as General Secretary of the Football Association of Malaysia. Coach Rajagopal’s presentation on how Malaysia won the 2010 Suzuki Cup is set for tomorrow. — LBG, GMA News
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