There’s little time for Makati FC to celebrate its recent triumph. The 2012 girls will fly out to London to battle storied academies. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A historic show of dominance should have been enough for Makati Football Club’s girls’ team to ease up and celebrate.
Not a chance.
In fact, the team hopes to follow up its recent success by testing itself against top international programs and hoping to speed up the players’ development.
Fresh from conquering the Gothia Cup in Sweden in dominant fashion, the Makati FC Girls 2012 team flies to London on Aug. 9 for a European showdown that will feature two of England’s most storied football institutions.
“This opportunity to be invited in this tournament came after we travelled to London last year to play against top clubs in Europe,” said MFC president Selu Lozano.
“This reinforces the need for a club in the Philippines to benchmark itself globally, to understand where we stand, and to keep pushing the standards for the future of Filipino football.”
At the 2012 Girls’ Trophy held at Haileybury School in Hertfordshire, Makati FC is set to face academy teams from Arsenal and Aston Villa—both mainstays in English football lore and among the best-resourced youth programs on the continent.
The tournament, which runs from August 14 to 16, features seven international teams from the UK, USA, UAE, and the Philippines.
The tournament comes at the heels of MFC’s girls defending their title playing in the Girls 13 division of the Gothia Cup, regarded as the World Cup of youth football.
Makati FC scored 43 goals there, conceding just two.
On August 14, the team, made up of homegrown talents, some of who are scholars of MFC from the provinces and flew in to Manila to study and train for free, meet Linfield, Arsenal, and NCE New York.
The next day, the squad, also reinforced by young standouts from Thailand, takes on Brighton, Aston Villa, Go Pro Dubai.
But it’s the Arsenal and Villa fixtures that most sharply frame the next step in the young girls’ rise. Arsenal Women’s Football Club is among the most decorated women’s sides in Europe, while Aston Villa’s girls’ academy is known for producing national-level players in England’s development pathway.
“Having won back to back in the world’s biggest youth tournament, we’re no longer looking for tournaments where we can win,” Lozano said.
“We’re focused on long term development of each of our athletes through Makati FC.”
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
Held on pristine pitches at a top UK boarding school, the 11-a-side tournament features academy-level opposition that trains nearly year-round.