Cebu: ‘Bring football to grassroots’

by Oscar C. Pineda

WITH the Akzals’ popular feats, a proposal to include football in the Provincial Government’s grassroots program came up, while Gov. Gwen Garcia said she will study it.

The proposal was inspired by the success in volleyball, which was introduced in the Province’s grassroots sports program years ago.


The Gov. Gwen Garcia Unity Volleyball (GUV) Cup, Capitol’s volleyball grassroots program, is now recognized nationwide, with the recent victory of Catmon volleyball girls team in the recent Palarong Pambansa for the third time. Cebu Football Association (CFA) is now proposing a Governors’ Cup for football.


Careful study

During the Azkals’ visit to the governor last Monday, the idea was proposed to her. The governor told the group, “We will carefully study it.”

Garcia said the CFA approached the Provincial Government because it is their hope that football will be institutionalized as a grassroots program.

“Because they have seen that, indeed, the Provincial Government will put its heart and mind to it, and can really achieve an honest to goodness grassroots program that promotes a particular sport down to barangay level,” the governor said.

She cited the GUV Cup, which is now recognized as the biggest volleyball tournament in the country, and Cebu being recognized as the volleyball capital of the Philippines.

Fitting sport

Jerome Mil, event director of Great Adventures and Concepts at Work, submitted the sports grassroots proposal to the governor the second week of May. The idea was raised again during the Azkals’ visit
He said a Brazilian football team visited the country five years ago and said football can be the country’s national sport, given the Filipinos’s speed and agility.

“We are physiologically more designed for this sport,” Mil said.

The governor’s son, Paolo Garcia, is assisting the group in their proposal. He admitted that aside from Mil, two foreign-based groups wish to establish grassroots program here in Cebu.

As for the governor, “Right now, no commitment.”

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 01, 2011.