Kampeon Cup suspended due to COVID-19 threat

By: Mars G. Alison - 5 years ago

Leylam FC of Cebu is the inaugural champion of the first Kampeon Cup held July 2019 in Manila. |Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The 7s Football League has decided to indefinitely suspend the second AIA Philam Vitality Kampeon Cup which is supposed to happen this weekend, March 13, 14 and 15, 2020.

It would have been the first tournament that would have been held at the artificial turf of the Dynamic Herb Borromeo Sports Complex.

Organizers believed that it was prudent to hold the event at a later date in view of the recent increase of Filipinos infected with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) as stated in the advisory that they had released on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

The Philippines recorded its first death of COVID-19 late night on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, while the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the COVID-19 is now a pandemic as it has affected more than 100 countries around the world.

The Kampeon would have gathered the all star teams from Manila, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo and the Cebu Niños, the selection of the Central Visayas Football Association (CVFA), to try and wrest the title from inaugural champions Leylam FC.

Aside from the Kampeon Cup, four youth categories would also have been contested as an introduction to the 7s Youth Tournament which the 7s Football League had hoped to start here in Cebu City this summer.

The youth categories had attracted a total of 32 teams with eight teams competing in each category. Two of the teams would have come from Davao and Bacolod.

Early today, the 7s Football League had decided to suspend only the youth categories and push through with the Kampeon Cup.

However, around midday, it released another advisory stating that it was also suspending the Kampeon Cup.

The 7s management assured that it would closely monitor the COVID-19 situation in the country and would give an update on the new schedule once the situation would be alleviated./dbs