Organizers, team head coaches, and team captains of the four football clubs vying in the CVFA U-20 Invitational Cup 2022 pose for a group photo during its launching at the Dynamic Herb-Borromeo Sports Complex in the South Road Properties. CDN Digital photo | Glendale G. Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Central Visayas Football Association (CVFA) U-19 squad will be facing som of the finest football clubs in its age group in the CVFA U-20 Invitational Cup 2022 to be held at the Dynamic Herb-Borromeo Sports Complex in the South Road Properties starting Thursday, August 4, 2022.
Three visiting football clubs in Manila-based Forza FC, Negros Occidental Football Association (NOFA), and the Bohol selection football team will compete in this 11-aside tournament that will last three days.
During its launching on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, all four teams vowed to play their best in the first tournament that will be hosted by the Dynamic Herb-Borromeo Sports Complex, which is also the home pitch of the Cebu Football Club (Cebu FC) Gentle Giants.
“We are expecting a tough battle, but like what we did in our previous tournaments, like the PFF U-19, we’re always ready for battle,” said CVFA U-19’s head coach Jojo Tapia during the presser.
Tapia was joined by Norman “Nonoy” Fegidero, who serves as the head coach of NOFA. Fegidero is also the current head coach of the Philippine Football Federation’s (PFF) U-23 national team. Along with him was his assistant coach to the national team and Forza FC head coach Oliver “Bing Bing” Colina, and Bohol selection’s head coach Alvin Mangubat.
“We prepared well for this tournament. For me, this tournament is good for football. As a team, we have to prepare coming from the pandemic, it was difficult to form a very competitive team, but as we go along, we can make this tournament, more competitive. That time, we can select good players for the national team, not only from Cebu, but also from Negros and all over the Philippines. We’re hoping this tournament will expand next year, and see a lot of potential players,” said Fegidero.
Fegidero also revealed that some of his players are from the team that topped the PFF National Championships’ U19 tournament where CVFA qualified this year in the national stage.
With that in mind, Fegidero’s NOFA squad could be touted as the tournament’s favored team to win the title.
For Colina, most of his players are from Cebu as Forza FC’s main team is currently busy competing in other tournaments. Nonetheless, he promised to field in a competitive team for the tournament.
“The owner of our club is from Cebu. She’s a Cebuana, she wanted the team to compete in a tournament like this in Cebu. She wanted me to come here, we had two-day preparation. For me, Forza FC is not just all about winning, it’s all about developing players,” said Colina.
Meanwhile, Mangubat said that Bohol’s team is comprised of selected players from community football clubs and varsity teams.
The tournament organized by CVFA headed by its U-19 team manager Josephril Partosa said that this was supposed to be the annual Hyundai Cup, which they converted into this kind of tournament due to various reasons.
They managed to push through with the tournament and even forged a partnership between CVFA and Cebu FC to further develop and strengthen the grassroots level in Central Visayas.
The first match on Thursday features Forza FC vs. Negros United FC at 7 a.m. while the second match pits the host team, CVFA U-19, and Bohol Selection at 9 a.m.
/bmjo
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