The Azkals are making a return trip to the international stage, this time in a different form, when they compete in the Asia 7’s Championship at the EV Arena in Elmina, Shah Alam in Malaysia starting Thursday, Oct. 10.

The Filipino booters are bunched with India, Malaysia and Hong Kong in the eight-team, four-day tournament that also has inaugural champion Japan, Brunei, Singapore and Vietnam.

The squad seeks a strong start when it battles Hong Kong at 6 p.m. and the host at 10 p.m., then clashes with India on Friday, Oct. 11, at 5:30 p.m. to wrap up the classification stage before heading to the quarterfinals later that night.

Semifinals and finals are slated on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 13, respectively.

Stephan Schrock, the recently retired national football team skipper who banners the crew in this tilt, said competing in the tournament is part of keeping the Azkals’ name alive, which has become synonymous with Philippine football.

The moniker Azkals was used by the national men’s football team in the 2000s with Dan Palami as their team manager. The team has become popular particularly after pulling strings of upset victories including in the 2010 Asean Football Federation Championship against powerhouse Vietnam.

Though the national men’s football team has discontinued the use of the moniker following Palami’s resignation this year, several individuals including Schrock wanted to keep the name alive even in a different setting.

The tournament is a 7-a-side format, which means only seven players from each team will play on a smaller pitch compared to the standard football match.