Football
Top FIFA official graces kickoff of PFF grassroot program
The Kasibulan grassroots football development program kicked off with a very influential person taking the lead.
Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, the FIFA vice-president for Asia, was in attendance as the Philippine Football Federation re-launched the grassroots program in Calamba, Laguna.
Prince Ali, the FIFA vice-president for Asia, donated $200,000 (or more than P8 million) to the program, which is the first beneficiary of the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) of which the prince of Jordan is the founder. The Kasibulan program also received P20 million in aid from the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
The prince expressed his admiration for the Philippine national men’s football team, which was a factor in the selection of this grassroots program as the first under the AFDP.
Many of the kids that participated undoubtedly hope to be part of the Azkals in the future, with one participant expressing his desire to be “like Phil Younghusband.”
But the PFF has a more immediate target for the beneficiaries of the development program, with the hope that some of the participants will lead the country to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2019 as part of the Teen Azkals.
“We’re trying to identify talents right now,” said PFF technical director Aris Caslib. “The target is to produce a strong team.”
