A well-defined plan from 2011 wasn’t carried out.
National youth teams in the Philippines are struggling in international competition. Why is that happening? One answer is that our youth aren’t being groomed for success on the world stage.
I ask: Why has that happened? One answer is: It wasn’t supposed to happen.
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In 2011–six years ago–GMA News Online reported that “for the first time since 2004, there will be an organized program to prepare for the AFC Under-17 Championship and World Championship in 2017 and 2019, respectively.”
The report continued: “The national coaching staff scoured Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Metro Manila to scout eight-year-olds. These kids are the perfect age for the two tournaments, turning 14 in 2017 and 16 in 2019.”
“If trained properly, these kids are gonna be better than the current Azkals,” said Aries Caslieb, who was then the national team coach.
But did we see those players at the U14 Festival of Football in Brunei in 2016 or in the AFF Under-15 Championship in Thailand in 2017?
We need to go back to the drawing board to plan effectively for this country’s football development.
And, as we do that, we need to recognize that seeds of success are planted at the grassroots. It’s there that children master the basics and develop love and a passion for the game. But even if we embrace that philosophy–and many already do–there’s more to the story.
We need to ask and answer two questions: What types of players do we need? What style of football is required?
At the moment everybody is doing what they like at the grassroots and teams play any style they want. That just won’t do.
In 2015 Azkals coach, Thomas Dooley, told The Guardian: “I want to build a team where everyone works for each other and for themselves, I want to have players who want the ball, who want to take responsibility, and I want to play football. I don’t want to kick the ball and rush after it.”
I ask: Is that the benchmark for player development in the Philippines?
