THE usual fanfare, the festive vibe and the droves of football players of all ages will flock the pitch and the grandstand of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) for Cebu's grandest annual football festival, the Thirsty Football Cup, on February 22 to 24.

Aside from having more teams this year, the football festival's 16th edition features a very unique exhibition match that will be the event's highlight -- a 15-minute exhibition match will be the all-amputee squad of the Amputee Soccer Philippines, which is supported by the Philippine Accessible Disability Services Inc. (Pads), against the Velez College football team.

The participating football teams this year 47 more than last year with a total of 281 in 14 different divisions.

The divisions are Under-7, Under-9, Under- 11, Boys Under-13, Boys Under-15, Girls Under-15, Boys Under-17, Girls Under-17, Boys Under-19, Girls Under-19, Men's Open, Women's Open, Mixed Open and Above-40.

Aside from the usual local clubs and school-based teams, there will be visiting squads from San Carlos City, Bohol, Dipolog, Bacolod, Roxas, Barili, Maguindanao, Maasin City, Himamaylan, Victorias City, San Juan, Davao, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Iligan City, Tacloban City, Borongan, Camotes, Baybay, Surigao and Northern Samar.