THE Hyundai Cup 2018 Champions League kicks off this Sunday, featuring four of the best Boys Under-16 teams and two visiting squads in a three-day football tournament at the Fr. Julian Hernando Football Field of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC).
“This is the second tournament Hyundai is sponsoring. It’s testament to Hyundai’s support for grassroots development and the kids. This is a much improved version of the first,” said Hyundai Cebu COO Kenneth Tan.
Defending titleholder SHS-AdC, last year’s runner-up Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) and Paref-Springdale will return to compete in the tournament again. Don Bosco Boys Home (DBBH) is the fourth team from Cebu. Joining them are Manila’s Great Oak Manor (GMO), which is mentored by Darren Hartmann, and a Negros Occidental Football Association (NOFA) selection team.
“Our goal really is to bring better competition to the kids,” said Tan.
The tournament follows a single round robin format with the top two teams facing off in the championship match on March 27. The third and fourth ranked squads fight for third place in a penalty shootout.
One of the highlights of the final day is a football clinic by Hartmann for around 80 kids aged eight to 12 years old. Another highlight is an exhibition match between the Hyundai Cup All-Star Selection and the Central Visayas Palarong Pambansa team.
Tan promised an even bigger tournament for next year. He wants to hold pocket tournaments in different locations in Visayas and Mindanao that have Hyundai dealerships like Bohol, Tacloban, Dumaguete and Cagayan de Oro.
“I’ll make sure that next year it will be a true Champions League. In the areas that we have dealerships, we will invite five to six teams and the champions there will come here to Cebu for the Champions League,” said Tan. (EKA)