WHEN the BPI AIA Asia 7s Football Championships kicked off last Friday at the McKinley Hill Stadium, you could feel the electricity in the venue.
Some 150 fans trooped to the former home of the defunct United Football League and an international football competition began in earnest.
There was a smattering of Japanese, Indian and Bruneians, and a larger Filipino contingent to cheer on their respective squads. And it was noisy. Just the sort of atmosphere you want for a competition. How much more if Guam and Vietnam, two other nations that were supposed to participate but pulled out at the last moment, were there.
By the time this column comes out on print, either Japan or India will be the inaugural winner of this tournament. The ultimate winner here is the sport of seven-a-side football.
This tournament—a brainchild of former football national team player Anton del Rosario—has the makings of a massive sporting event that will propel the sport to dizzying heights.
With the incredible support of AIA and BPI AIA for sevens football and its related event, the Kampeon Cup, this will only grow. I’d say within the next three years; all events will really take off.
I saw that with the grassroots National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) when I first got involved with them in 2011. It was transitioning from a regional tournament to one that included National Capital Region squads and the eventual high school All-Star Game. A few years, we had international guest squads. We went from regional gyms to the Ynares Center and the Meralco Gym to the MOA Arena. We went from me—the only media person—covering the event to dozens of others writing and featuring the games, the players and Filipinos born overseas.
Now, it’s a massive event (even if I have not been involved with the NBTC since 2018), and it’s a delight to see.
The BPI AIA Asia 7s Football Championship also gives all the four participating teams a chance to see where their respective programs stand; the level of their play, and where they need to go.
The technical nous, discipline, speed and power of Japan I expected. Nevertheless, it was a sight to see. That they have crushed all the opposition is once more no surprise. Hence, the Japanese will be the barometer for the style of play.
India was a pleasant surprise considering that cricket and field hockey are upper stratosphere sports there. Kabaddi, 11-a-side football, tennis and badminton are the next most popular sports.
Seven-a-side football is also growing in their country.
Over at Brunei, they play different variants of the football—seven-a-side, eight-a-side and so on. Traditional football is by far the top sport. Silat, martial arts, badminton and polo are also massive.
Their seven-a-side game is starting to grow as well.
As for the Philippines, this is Year Five with the program taking a quantum leap this season. There are a lot of learnings that will surely provide the blueprint for success to come.
And for all the nations involved in the inaugural event, they will look back at this as something special. And the start of some really great promise individually and collectively.