Philippine Jeepneys and the Homeless World Cup

Filipinos have been keeping their eyes glued to football (or soccer) these past few months after the senior national football team, the Philippine Azkals, grabbed local, national and international headlines since their miracle victory in Hanoi, Vietnam during the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. Fans, supporters, sponsors and funds started to pour in from all sides since then, and changed the Pinoy's world-view of football forever.

Although the Azkals recently failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, football fanatics in the Philippines continued to believe that football is being reborn and being cultivated as it was overshadowed by basketball in the past century. High hopes have been made for football to make ground in the country, and it will start with the improvement of local leagues and grassroots development, and the increasing media coverage of local and international football leagues to the Pinoy masses.

At this time of posting, Filipino footie fans are now keen in supporting the Philippine contingent to the annual Homeless World Cup, held this year in Paris, France. Nicknamed the Philippine Jeepneys (named after the most ubiquituous form of public transport in the country), they compose of mainly local players from different parts of the country. But what makes this team special is that all these players are currently homeless. That means, they don't have a permanent home to live in and no decent work or education, (and a few of them have no relatives to support them). These attributes make up some of the qualifications for playing in this charity-backed football tournament.

With them is coach Rudy del Rosario, a former skipper of the national team in the mid-1990s and currently the coach of United Football League club Kaya FC (where prominent national players like current skipper Aly Borromeo and defender Anton del Rosario are currently in). He and his coaching staff have been searching for potential players since late last year in key cities in the country like Manila, Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Around 250 to 270 players joined in the tryouts.

He says that the most important thing that the team takes away in the tournament is "the pride and honor of representing our country in a big international event, and knowing that in spite of their current life situation we are just all the same human beings everywhere."

With the team in Paris is Azkals team manager Dan Stephen Palami, who has been called the "saviour of Philippine football." Recently, Palami treated the team with some food from KFC (yes, that Kentucky Fried Chicken) and a city tour around Paris, something that these underprivileged kids will never forget. Seems that Dan Palami, who is in fact an Accounting graduate of University of the Philippines Diliman, is really devoted to keep the spirits of these footballers alive through his apparent generosity.

As they conquest for success, the Philippine Jeepneys will also pursue to gain their status in life through this tournament. After the competition, they will be expected to be assisted as they transform into better individuals. Opportunities for education and work, livelihood assistance and even stints with local clubs and national teams will be in store for them. Since the Philippines' first stint in the Cup in the Melbourne games in 2008, many of these players lives have been changed and their football careers improved. Now that Philippine football has been showering with sponsors and supporters, the future is even brighter for these kids.

These grassroots players are part of the future of Philippine football. We should support them every step of the way in the competition. Who knows when these players will also play for the Azkals someday? Only God's time will tell.

Mabuhay Pilipinas Futbol! Mabuhay Philippine Jeepneys!

Why not watch the Homeless World Cup online? They now offer online streaming of all their games (fixtures, as called technically) through the Internet. For more of the action visit http://www.homelessworldcup.org/paris-2011/video

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Para sa manlalarong Pilipino,
KENNETH

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