The Negros Football Association is taking the initiative to help regional associations in the development in their grassroots’ programs.
With help coming from the Philippine Sports Commission, the NOFA is collaborating with the Central Luzon Football Association to stage the Luzon Cup football tournament from Nov. 21 to 24 in Tarlac City.
CLFA secretary general Ed Flaminiano said the staging of the meet will address the need to have a grassroots’ football development in Luzon.
“For the last three years, there’s no grassroots program in Luzon. The Luzon Cup is a good sports development program,” said Flaminiano during yesterday’s launch at the Kachina Room of Sheraton Hotel.
The tournament for boys aged 12-under has drawn entries from 16 clubs across Luzon. It will be held at the Jose V. Yap Sports and Recreational Park in San Jose, Tarlac.
And it will be done with the support of the Tarlac provincial and city governments as it encourages clubs to hold more grassroots competitions.
Businessman-sportsman and NOFA president Ricky Yanson Jr. said they have been organizing the Bacolod-based NOFA Cup for the last four years.
Yanson owns the Ceres Football Club. His family also owns a bus line company that covers the Visayas region.
Since that time, Yanson explained that he came to realize the need to bring football development to the community outside the Visayas area.
“We have to bring football to a larger community. When we stage the NOFA Cup, only a few teams can join outside of Visayas. So we made a decision on this last year,” said Yanson.
PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez welcomed the staging of the Luzon, which will now be part of a triangle of age-group competitions which the NOFA helped organize.
“I am supporting Ricky Yanson in his quest to develop football wherever it takes him,” said Ramirez.
The 16th participating squad will come from the Mindanao Cup 2019 champion, which is the Bukidnon FA.