After a two year-lull due to the pandemic, it is now finally all systems go for the 2nd AIA Kampeon Cup which is set to fire off at the La Provincia Polo Field in Bacolod City over the weekend starting Friday, Oct.14.
Among the seven-a-side selection squads participating, Cebu will have the biggest target on its back after ruling the inaugural edition in 2019, joining bridesmaid finishers BGC and Iloilo in the Group B while San Carlos, Pampanga and Bacolod battle it out in the Group A.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals where the winners will be locking horns for the crown in the Finale on the last day of the tournament on Sunday.
Kampeon Cup founder and former national team member Anton del Rosario said the tournament will be a good avenue to develop the grassroots program and discover the untapped potential of Filipino players around the country.
“There’s a lot of talent outside of the city here which gets overlooked and we want to provide the opportunity to those talents across the country and put them on the pedestal where everybody can see them at the top level,” said del Rosario during the AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup press conference at the Studio 300 in Pasig City.
He even cited the final of the inaugural season as an example where BGC, composed of some former national team members and PFL players including himself, got stunned by a relatively unknown Cebuano crew.
“That’s what the Kampeon Cup is all about being able to provide the opportunity to those players to be able to showcase that ‘hey there is a future for football in the country’,” he added.
The tournament is only the start of the events in the pipeline planned not just to develop Filipino talents but also to foster better relations with neighboring countries as Del Rosario along with AIA Vitality eye to bring in teams from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei for the third edition of the tournament in March 2023.
“The goal for the Kampeon Cup is to be an international tournament where teams from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and others come over to participate.Now that will not only help the sport on a national level, but also foster better relations with our neighbors.”