Air Force, Cebu run show in beach football

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Air Force ruled the men’s division while a local team took the women’s crown in the 2009 National Beach Football Championships staged recently in the tourist town of San Remigio, Cebu.

The Beach Football Association of the Philippines-organized event, now on its ninth year, saw the Airmen pulling off an upset against elimination round leader Army, 2-1, in the title-match of the 5-aside tournament presented by Philippine Sports Commission chairman Harry Angping.

Striker Ian Araneta broke the ice on the seventh minute for the Diding Cabalida-mentored PAF, whose star player Emilio “Chippy” Caligdong, a member of the national team, was sidelined with an injury during the event opener against Army.

The stocky Araneta sealed the victory for Air Force six minutes later, while Army man Relan Bretana booted in the lone goal in the fourth minute for the runners-up.

Behind the PAF and the PA squads in the men’s event were the entries from San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, Dumaguete City, Cebu and Iloilo.

San Remigio, Cebu topped the women’s competition followed by another team from Cebu, with Bacolod City and the NCR completing the four-team cast in the distaff side.

Also supporting the national beach soccer tournament were SMART Communications, Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation and the University of the Philippines Alumni.

“This year’s friendly hostilities were several notches higher than the previous editions. The Air Force and their Army rivals were basically neck-and-neck. The curtain-raiser was a hit especially when both ended in a 0-all draw,” said BFAP president Mike Athab, who used to mentor the UP Women’s Football squad.

Athab promised a more exciting national finals next year as the Philippines prepares for the Beach Football World Cup qualifying four months from now.

“We hope to make it to the Top 2 in our division so that we can send a Philippine beach football team to the World Cup,” he added.

He said the World Beach Football currently ranks the Philippines 35th among more than 60 countries playing the sport.

The Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) website lists the Philippines as only one of two Southeast Asian countries that figured in the top-ranked beach football teams worldwide. The other is Thailand. currently in the 23rd spot.

But the Philippines, which is tied with Mozambique in its present ranking, the BSWW said, is way ahead of football-crazy Germany and Peru(39th), Hungary (42nd), England (43rd), Netherlands (51st) and Austria (52nd), among others.

“Our record shows we can be world-class beach football players. But we should do more and join regular events in the international stage for us to sustain the development and succeed in our efforts to upgrade beach soccer as a sport in the country,” said Rea Villa, BFAP Secretary General and former member of the UP women’s football squad.

World Leaders

Brazil leads the roster of Top 10 beach football teams in the world followed by France, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Senegal and Nigeria.

In the 11th to the 20th spots are Russia, Japan, US, Solomon Islands, Bahrain, Canada, Ukraine, Poland, United Arab Emirates and Iran, the BSWW website said.