Puma street soccer starts at Glorietta

Fourteen schools nationwide clash for prestige and honor in the Puma Invitational Street Soccer 15-under tournament, the latest craze that is drawing multitudes of fans and players worldwide, starting today at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.

The competing teams are Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Iloilo, Davao, Rizal Province, Laguna, Masbate, Iligan, Ateneo Football Center, Makati Football School, International School, Brent International, British School and Japanese School.

The day’s festivities, organized by the International Management Group, the global sports marketing company, start with the opening ceremonies at 11 a.m.

The national women’s team will demonstrate how the 4-on-4 format is played in the exhibition game at 12 noon. Puma will also be conducting a skills show.

The elimination round of the street soccer competition starts at 1:30 p.m. The top four teams qualify for the quarterfinals, with the winners advancing to the semis. The losers play for third place while the winners clash for the title on Monday.

Puma is staging the unique tournament for the second straight year in conjunction with the much-heralded World Cup set to start today in South Korea and Japan. The three-day event, presented by Puma, is sponsored by The Philippine STAR, Burlington, Puma Eyewear, National Sports Grill, Planet Sports, The Athlete’s Foot, Tokyo Tokyo and 103.5 K Lite.