SLOTS to the national youth team will be up for grabs when the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and Davao Regional Football Association (DRFA) hold tryouts for promising under-13 and under-15 booters who will qualify to the 2017 Regional Festival of Football on March 3 to 5 at the Fifa Football Training Center in Valencia, Bukidnon City.
DRFA official Rachelle "Ching" Delos Reyes, who was a guest during the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum held at The Annex of SM City Davao Thursday, January 26, said the tryouts will be held on Saturday and Sunday and on February 11 and 12 at the Tionko football grounds and Rizal Memorial Colleges (RMC) football field.
"The tryouts is open to students and out-of-school youth as long as they are physically fit, eligible and has their National Statistics Office (NSO) birth certificates," delos Reyes said, adding that the PFF will shoulder all expenses during the tryouts from food, transportation, and sleeping accommodations.
Delos Reyes said the regional qualifiers will compete in single round-robin against four football associations in Mindanao including Bukidnon Football Association (Bufa), Iligan Lanao del Norte Football Association (Ilnofa) and Cagayan Misamis-Oriental Football Association (Mofa).
Mofa, according to her, will be their stiffest rival.
PFF national coaches will scout among the players in the Bukidnon.
Delos Reyes added that Davao City and the rest of Mindanao have been producing players to the national grassroots, youth and open teams.
She also said that DRFA is supporting the 8th Sakya Filipino-Chinese Football Festival on February 4 and the 2017 Blue Cup set on February 18.