National women's football selections tourney to boost Negros tourism

THE hosting in Bacolod City of the National Football Women's Selections Tournament on April 25 to 28 at Panaad Sports and Recreational Park pitch will help boost local tourism in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, said EVFC head businessman Junie Lizares.

The tournament will be hosted by the Executive Village Football Club in cooperation with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

"I'm sure tourism in our city and province will get a needed boost with the arrival here of at least 12 participating teams — six per category - plus their supporters who will be occupying our local hotels and eating in our restaurants during the week-long event," Lizares told a TV interview with talk show host Elsie Jolingan last week.

The teams coming over to compete in this tournament in both the 18Under and 13Under categories are coming from NCR, Davao, Cebu, Iloilo and Negros Oriental/Dumaguete.

The Negros Occidental teams in both the 18Under and 13Under categories were formed from a series of weekend tryouts conduncted by coaches tasked to select the province’s best players for this tournament.

Head coach of the U\18Under Negros squad is former University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos varsity standout Warren Concepcion while head coach of the 13Under team is veteran mentor Jose Reymando Baldava of Victorias City.

Lizares told last week's press conference at Luxur's Place they will present the final lineups of the two Negros Occidental squads sometime this week.

Team captain of the 13Under Negros Occidental Team is Isa Carmona, daughter of former Negros team mainstay and National Football League MVP John Carmona while named skipper of the 18Under Negros Occidental Team is Charmaine Guancia of University of St. La Salle.

The objective of the two-day tournament is to help national coaches select members of the national 18Under and 13Under squads, said Lizares.

The national U13 team that will be formed after this tournament will carry the country's colors in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Festival of Football in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in June this year while the U18 nationals will compete in the AFCAsian Women’s qualifying evcnt sometime in October this year at a strill to be announced venue. (HCV)