PRESS RELEASE
ALASKA TIES UP WITH FCBESCOLA FOOTBALL CAMP,
SPONSORS FUTKALERO CHILDREN FROM TONDO
What is
better than playing against one of the best football clubs in the world? Being
trained by them.
Never in a
million years did they thought that they will be able to see the world’s #1
ranked football club, FCBarcelona, in action, much less interact with them. But
these promising young football talents from Tondo did just that and more.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Alaska Milk Corporation, the five Futkaleros—
Champ Cyrus Wico, Jonas Lorens Lavarias, John David Espiritu, Maria Rochel
Mendaňo, and Roger Batiugas— were able to train under the FCBarcelona coaches Jordi Blanco and Jose Moratalla during the FCBEscola Philippines Barcelona Soccer
Camp for the youth, a sports workshop that did not only aim to teach Filipino
kids the rudiments and techniques in the game but also share with them the FCBarcelona
values of teamwork and hard work.
“Alaska has
been there from the very start, even at that time when football was not very
popular. It has been supporting the grassroots development of the sport and in
training players. The annual Alaska Cup, is in fact, the biggest cup in the
country, with thousands of players in a single day. So we were not surprised
that Alaska lent their support to this project,” says Michael Reyes, organizer
of the camp and Team Socceroo’s captain.
Training under World’s Best
Excitement
lit up the eyes of the five Futkaleros as they showed their moves to the coaches.
They believe that the camp is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve their
game, learn some new skills and incorporate a new strategy into their play. According
to Reyes, the style of the Futkaleros is more freestyle. “I have seen them play
and their commitment to the game is impressive. I know that they practice every
day. They’re fast. They’re agile. Participating in the camp will help them
develop their play more.”
What kids
will take away from the five-day camp is not just technique but the values:
that football is not about winning but in playing your best and playing with
your team. Steven Chua, Operations Director for FCBEscola Asia Pacific,
relates, “I remembered a FCBarcelona camp in Singapore that we organized. After
the camp, I asked one of the kids what he learned. He told me he learned the
reasons why he has to move here, why he has to make a pass. Before, he just
does it because he has to without even knowing why. He also learned that football
is not about winning but playing the game.”
More than a
hundred kids, 6 to 14 years old, signed up for the camp held recently at the
Alabang Country Club. They did not even mind the extra-ordinarily hot day,
showing off their skills on the field, all of them eager to train under the
very best in the world. World famous players Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi were all products of FCBEscola.
Built not as important as technique
According to
the organizers, the Futkaleros have the typical Filipino built, which unlike
basketball, is suited to football. Filipinos are not as tall as other kids but
they compensate with their incredible speed and agility. FCBarcerlona has
members who have similar built but are still able to excel. In football, built
is not as important as technique.
“The style
of football of FCBarcelona is the ‘most fit’ and ‘most matched’ [style] with
Filipinos. They do not rely on size. In other sports, if you are big, you’d be
a better player. In football, we rely more on technique, the passing, how the
team plays. FCBarcelona’s style of football is not very individualistic. It
emphasizes team play,” says Nicholas Reyes, FCBEscola camp organizer.
Wanted: Healthy body, good attitude
and passion
There is
also no age requirement, just a healthy body, good attitude and passion for the
sport. Reyes emphasized good nutrition at an early age “as this will give
children an edge in the sport.” Both exercise and proper diet are essential, especially
to the significant number of Filipino kids, who have been found to suffer from
undernutrition and overweight problems (National Nutrition Survey of FNRI-DOST,
2008). It is recommended that they eat a balanced set of meals and do more
physical activity, which Alaska Milk Corporation has been advocating through
their sports programs.
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Alaska Milk Corporation brings FCBEscola, the world’s No. 1
ranked football club here in the Philippines to help develop children through
sports programs such as the FCBEscola Barcelona Camp. The FCBEscola Barcelona
Camp has already begun training kids last April 17 and will continue until
April 21 at the Ayala Alabang Country Club.
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