Mindanaotoday.com | DepEd to receive footballs from FIFA
By: Jack Biantan
CAGAYAN DE Oro City — My new Facebook account, Leonides Biantan (Christian Robert), has my photo of me preparing at least 100 small Sunsport futsal balls for our trip in Marawi City in the November of 2019.
The photo gained lots of response from my friends particularly my old players who are now into coaching. They were asking for some futsal balls. Unfortunately, those futsal balls are no longer with me. We gave them away to the teachers of Marawi before the pandemic in 2019.
The Moran Foundation of former national team player Danny Moran donated those futsal balls. We gave them out to the teachers of Marawi City after they attended a two-day futsal coaching seminar conducted by coach Percy Guarin.
The Moran Foundation then was planning to hold an inter-school futsal tournament by the summer of 2020 in Marawi City. Unfortunately, COVID hit the world and all the plans went into the drain.
The futsal balls? They are may be in the houses of the teachers waiting to be kicked or might be even in the thrash bins of Marawi.
he good news, according to a source inside the PFF, thousands of footballs are coming from FIFA.
According to the source, the footballs are on their way and will be given not through the PFF but through the Department of Education (DepEd).
GOOD NEWS
Why through DepEd? It is because these footballs will be given through the Football for Schools program of FIFA which would be handled to all the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
According to my source, FIFA will give at least 12,000 footballs to the DepEd.
FOOTBALL COACH
Any football coach knows that the most important equipment for football development is the ‘football’. The more contact the player with the ball the more he or she develops as a player.
Let’s hope that these footballs would land on the deserving feet. As I have mentioned earlier, local coaches are dying to get footballs since the summer holidays are coming.
DepED should be aware also that these footballs might land on the feet of evil persons or politicians who would weaponize them for their election campaigns.
I also hope that these footballs have quality. I bought six match footballs from Shopee few months ago for my club, the Lumbia Raptors FC here in Cagayan de Oro. The footballs cost P600 each. One was already busted when they arrived. One was deflated in a week and now the rest are busted. What waste of P3,600.
But of course with more than 50 kids kicking footballs in Lumbia everyday, no high quality footballs would last long. That is why the FIFA donation, if they could reach us before the start of summer vacation would be heaven sent.
SUNSPORT
I am going out soon to buy some Sunsport futsal balls and footballs at the Gaisano Mall. Sunsport, a local brand from Cebu, is my most trusted brand. I bought five futsal balls in March last year, until now three are still being used. The Sunsport footballs are also tough and affordable.
thing for Sunsport is that long time friend and owner Andrew Chuachoy is a generous sponsor of tournaments. (jackbiantantambok@gmail.com)
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