Forming a strong organization in the country’s flag football community is the main goal of the Flag Football Philippines (FFP), headed by founder Joseph Pagulayan.
Pagulayan and other FFP officials are in Cebu to supervise the South Bowl 2015: Flag Football Regional Championship Games, which is currently ongoing at the San Roque Football Field and the Camp Lapu-Lapu football field.
“The old league died and FFP revived it recently with a new set of goals,” Pagulayan said during a press conference held late Friday night at the East Capitol Pension Inn. “Our primary goal is unity and singularity among flag football teams in the country so that we can finally give the sport the much-needed growth and development.”
FFP, formerly known as the B-League Football Club, is the official Flag Football authority in the country, according to Pagulayan. It focuses on the development of the sport in the country in the hopes of someday making it a mainstream athletic event among Filipinos. It is also recognized by the United States’ National Football League.
Pagulayan said Cebu is the best place to start this bid for unity. The tournament held here aims to reassure a unified alliance or organization among flag football teams, where issues and challenges are threshed out and collaborative solutions are derived.
“We have to break down barriers to unite everyone through FFP’s affiliation program here in the South,” Pagulayan said.
FFP has 18 affiliated teams in Manila and eight in the Visayas and Mindanao region.
Pagulayan said the group is not planning to be recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission to prevent politicking that may intervene with the group’s plan. He said they will remain independent.
The ongoing tournament has attracted six teams from the Visayas and Mindanao region. They are Cebu Niños, Sugbuanons, Iligan Titans, Iligan Hawks, Dumaguete Mad Dogs and the Ozamis Wolves.
The tournament serves as a qualifier for Touchdown Manila 2015, which is an international tournament that will feature six other countries.
The winning team in the Cebu tournament will gain points that will be used to determine the regional rankings.