This week marks two years since sports events in Cebu had to be canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I still remember the events that had to be canned two years ago, just weeks before the country went into the world’s longest lockdown.

There was the Thirsty Cup, traditionally held every February but initially moved to April 2020 before it had to be canceled outright. The Aboitiz Cup, the country’s biggest and longest-running 11-a-side tournament was in its knockout phase before things turned for the worse.

Since then, we haven’t had a football event in Cebu. Though boxing and basketball, thanks to the Games and Amusement Board, were able to hold bubble events. School-based sports hasn’t made a comeback.

Until now.

The Central Visayas Regional Football Association (CVFA) has been tapped to host the Palarong Pambansa bubble tournament in April, a massive undertaking that could see the local football community take the first step in the resumption of school sports in the country.

This one started innocently enough though. Last year, one of the Department of Education (DepEd) officials in charge of the Palarong Pambansa was in Cebu for a medical emergency. He met with the regional FA head, Rodney Orale, and one discussion led to another until the idea for a football bubble was formed.

The CVFA and local DepEd officials have had a series of discussions last year but that, too, had to be canned.

“We didn’t expect Odette to hit us,” said Orale.

The super typhoon left massive damage and some areas in Cebu still have no power or mobile phone coverage. Already suffering from the pandemic, the hospitality industry took another massive blow from Odette.

But this bubble could provide a much-needed lifeline for some struggling to survive. Athletes and officials will be housed in hotels, with meals provided for them. The lucky hotels and caterers chosen to serve the participants will get the much-needed income.

Though already experts in organizing football tournaments, the first bubble tournament will be a challenge for the CVFA, much so that they’ll have to fund the accommodation and the antigen tests of the participants from Metro Cebu and Cebu Province. I hope the response from the LGUs will be positive as their help is very much needed in making this one a success.

Orale said that this will be used as a blueprint in the resumption of the Palarong Pambansa, so the stakes are very high. High school athletes have spent the last two years away from the action and this could open the door for them to return to competition.