Cebu football - 14th Aboitiz Cup kicks off Nov. 19

By Cheska D. Geli

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

THE 14th Aboitiz Cup will kick off on Nov. 19 at the Aboitiz Sportsfield.

During a coaches’ meeting this week, the group decided to move the opening date for a week to give the teams ample time to prepare.

This year’s tournament will add the Players 6, men’s under-19, under-23 and women’s open futsal. Also for this year, the Aboitiz Cup will no longer have the Girls 14, Boys 17, Men’s 38 above and Men’s Second Division.

Also, the Cebu Football Association’s vision to be the first group to adopt a grassroots tournament will have to wait as local coaches are not yet ready to adopt the Fifa Grassroots Tournament.

The Fifa Grassroots Tournament was supposed to be included in the opening day activities. It will run for three hours with 20 coaches present to supervise the children who will play in rotation.

“I opened it to the coaches during the meeting and they were just silent. So I guess silence means no,” said CFA board member Eleazar Toledo.

For the Players 6, the coaches have also decided to have a competition without goalkeepers.

A futsal tournament will replace the women’s 11-a side open for the first time in the tournament’s history.

A total of 44 teams have signed up though the number is expected to grow after the Nov. 12 deadline for the submission of lineup.

Among the newcomers expected are St. Agustin International School of Lapu-Lapu City, Southwestern University, which is joining the Under 23 competition, and Erco FC in the men’s open.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 10, 2011.