IT’S a new season and for Cebu football, it’s the time of the Sinulog Cup, the first major tournament organized by the Central Visayas Football Association.
Now on its 10th year, the event will have 14 categories, from the youngest Mixed Under 7 up to the 50-Above and the men’s and ladies’ open. It used to be the 35-above division but I think the guys who pioneered that division a decade or so ago are long past that age limit and are near their 50s, hence the half-century mark.
The other divisions are the Under 9, Under 11, Boys 13, 15, 17 and 19 and the Girls 15, 17 and 19.
It will also have the inter-company division, which I’ve heard is one of the most competitive lately with teams resorting to all sorts of things to win the title.
The Sinulog Cup was started by the Cebu Amateur Football Club of Ricky Dakay and had quite a history with the then Cebu Football Association (CFA) threatening teams who would join it with a ban on participating from CFA activities. Thankfully, that sordid history came to pass and the event has since been part of the local FA’s calendar.
With Bohol and the other areas of Central Visayas now part of the local FA, I hope they get to send teams to the event too and get to participate regularly in tournaments here, like the Thirsty Cup and even the Aboitiz Cup.
Bohol, too can be a major help to the CVFA as it is planning to expand on its beach soccer program, which I think, is one aspect of football that has been overlooked. I can’t remember any beach soccer tournament in the past, with the last one held years ago in Moalboal.
But under the new setup, there’s a committee tasked to handle beach soccer and it can easily tap the many beaches in Bohol and in Mactan as a venue for the tournament. I know last year, the CVFA checked some sites in Bohol to be a potential host and I hope we get to see a tournament this year.
We may not have world-class football facitilies in this side of the country but we sure have world-class beach resorts, which could make a beach soccer tournament a potential tourist generating one.
All we need is to hold that first one and I think once we iron out the kinks, we can adjust accordingly.
But first of course, there’s the Sinulog Cup and I hope this year’s event will get maximum participation.