At least two parents wrote The Designated Kit Man regarding their sentiments on the composition of our youth teams that will compete in regional tournaments this month.
The first one is more about the parents’ hopes that their daughter will eventually play for the Philippine Women’s National Football Team or the Filipinas someday.
The other one is about his dismay on how the Philippine Football Federation conducted the tryouts for the youth teams, one of which was attended by his son who came all the way from the United States.
The son was invited by the PFF to attend an Under19 ID Camp at the Rizal Memorial Stadium (RMS) from June 10 to July 19, 2024. If the son gets selected, he will join the team that will compete in the tournament in Indonesia. So the whole family was excited to get the invite and the possibility of their son wearing the country’s colors was too great to ignore.
“It would be a great experience for all of us visiting the Philippines for one month. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to showcase himself in front of the PFF for one month. It might not happen again,” the father wrote. The father said the PFF assured the family that it would reimburse all his son’s expenses in coming over if he makes the team.
A little background on the kid’s credentials. According to the father, his son has played in several leagues stateside despite being just 17. He is good after making his mark in high-level tournaments against international and professional teams. Because of these, the kid got several offers to play college soccer from several universities before settling on one based in the Southwest. These credentials naturally gave high hopes for the family that the son will eventually make it to the team. Or at the very least, the PFF will give a positive look at the young man.
To cut the long story short, the whole family bought tickets for three to fly to Manila and booked a month’s stay at a hotel near RMS. The family arrived in Manila mid June. After a week, the son was sent home. The reason, according to the father, was that “his son’s style of game doesn’t fit the philosophy of the U19 team.”
“If that’s the case, we’re ok with the excuse, but we’re made to believe the ID Camp would be from June 10 to July 11. I heard many overseas players came from Europe and the US and they also experienced the same fate. One week and the PFF cut them. Are the local players really better in quality than the other overseas players?” the parent asked.
For context, the son attended the camp for one week. While here, they won one game against a local team playing in the local league. The young man is also a Philippine passport holder as his parents are both Filipinos, the father coming from Region 4, while the mother is from the North. Not from Winterfell, but from Ilocandia.
“I was livid about spending more than $8,000 when all the PFF could do was look at my son for one week. That’s 2-3 hours of training per day and one scrimmage,” he lamented.
Despite what they went through, the father ended his letter with this: “What happened to us was like a bad dream, but my son is not totally shutting down the PFF.”
The parent asked me to relay his question on why the PFF did not explicitly specify that a player may be cut just one week into the ID Camp. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ask this concern during last Monday’s PFF presser. I only got the answer (after I asked the supposed media officer for clarification) that I could attend the presser some 45 minutes before it was about to start. Some members of the media who cover football were fortunate, they got the invites at least a day before or early Monday morning.
I don’t want to speculate on the reasons why the players are being selected in the youth teams or who among the media gets the invite. They have their reasons. I’m just hoping that favoritism is not among them. For some consolation, three names in the sporting beat, whom I equally admire were also not present during the presser. One of them told me that he didn’t get an invite either.
On a more positive vibe, the Philippine National Men’s Basketball Team’s victory against highly-favored Latvia is indeed a much-needed shot in the arm. The Pinoys led from start to finish to post an 89-80 win to keep their hopes alive for a ticket in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Coach Tim Cone really did his homework, inspiring and leading the team to play a high level of basketball during the entire game.
The win somehow cushioned the embarrassing 141-45 massacre that our Under-17 team suffered against the United States in the FIBA U-17 World Cup in Turkey on the same night. Many say the outcome was expected, going up against an American team full of NBA prospects. But then again, this is not, and will never be, an excuse. Time to shake things up in the coaching staff. Baka may iba naman na puwede mag coach sa team?
Speaking of the team, my co-host Chino Trinidad posted recently that a spot on the U-17 team was “sold” for an all-expense paid trip to Turkey. This is very serious. More than the embarrassing losses, this should not be swept under the rug, it’s time the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas did something about this report. Fast.
Note to self: ‘Wag suntukin ang pader, masakit!
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
