Docu on young football heroes screened nationwide

MANILA, Philippines - The campaign of the Little Azkals gets a big boost as a documentary feature about the young football team gets a special screening at major SM cinemas.

Showing at SM MOA, Megamall, South Mall, Sta. Mesa, Fairview, Manila, Marikina, Bacoor, Iloilo, Cebu, North Edsa, Davao, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro tomorrow, Oct. 25 and on Oct. 26, is the docu titled Little Azkals: Pursuit of a World Cup Dream.

The film tells the story of 22 boys who were picked by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) from over 1,000 aspirants to be part of the Little Azkals Under-11 team and how they were sent by the British Council and supported by Pru Life UK, ABS-CBN and SM Cinema, for a three-week elite training in England. The boys competed against England’s top young football clubs and were taught by experts of the Loughborough University, an educational institution affiliated with the British Olympic Association. The U-11 boys’ team trains locally for free at the Acacia Estate Field courtesy of DMCI. 

The new docu by Baby Ruth Villarama is a first of a series intended to chronicle the boys’ growth as they make their way towards the 2019 FIFA Under-17 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. It depicts how the young Filipinos played against more experienced footballers, submitted themselves to grueling drills and endured homesickness and the cold English weather to represent the country. For most of the Little Azkals, the trip to England marked their first time to go abroad and be away from their families. “They all carry hearts of champions,” Baby Ruth says of the boys.

The film also shows how the Little Azkals’ coaches Eliezar Fabroada, Raymond Pili, Laurence Dave Gerali and Percy Guarin guided and encouraged them on this first journey. It also has interviews from Azkals Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong and Rob Gier. Rob, in fact, personally went to Loughborough to cheer and support the Little Azkals when he learned they were there. 

Little Azkals: Pursuit of a World Cup Dream is rated General Patronage, suitable for all ages by the Movie and Television Classification Board (MTRCB). The film is a co-production of Voyage Studios and Spears Activation and PR Company with Baby Ruth as director; Albert Almendralejo, Doy del Mundo and Chuck Gutierrez as creative producers; and the Gawad Kalinga SipaG Program as co-presenter. The docu features music by award-winning composer Von de Guzman. Its sound was mixed by Mike Idioma on Dolby 5.1, the global standard in surround sound. 

The producers are open to requests for screenings in schools and interested institutions. For details, log on to littleazkals.com.ph, follow LittleAzkalsPH on Twitter and like LittleAzkalsMovie on Facebook.