BACOLOD CITY -- The Philippines is hosting the Copa Alma, a modified 7-a-side football tournament for 12- to 14-year-olds, in Nasugbu, Batangas this weekend.
The event, which is taking place in Asia for the first time on May 26-27, is organized by Fundacion Real Madrid, the corporate social responsibility arm of Spanish football club Real Madrid.
Previously, Copa Alma was held in Europe and the Americas.
Modified 7-a-side footbal tournament is played by only seven players instead of the regular full 11 team roster and is staged at less than half the pitch and uses smaller goals. It makes for a more exciting football action as it has faster pacing as matches are in 15-minute halves.
Boys’ and girls’ teams from Real Madrid Social Sports Schools in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are seeing action in the tournament, which aims to foster the values of fellowship, team spirit, respect, self-reliance, and equality among the participants, and bring out the best in them as change agents for a better world.
Copa Alma Filipinas 2018 is being organized in partnership with the Roxas Foundation, the corporate foundation and social development arm of Philippine sugar and ethanol producer Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI).
Rosa Roncal, manager of the International Projects of Fundacion Real Madrid, and coach of Nacho Abascal will arrive for the two-day tournament, which coincides with the weekend Real Madrid is vying for the UEFA Champions League crown for the 13th time and for the third year in a row.
Roxas Foundation president Beatriz Roxas said in a press statement it is a privilege for the Philippines to host the event and it would be a unique experience for the children.
RHI, which owns and operates the Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc. in Nasugbu, also has three subsidiaries in Negros Occidental -- the Central Azucarera de La Carlota, Inc. and Roxol Bioenergy Corp., both in La Carlota City, and San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc. in San Carlos City.
Children from La Carlota are among the beneficiaries of the Real Madrid Social Sports Schools in the country.
In the Philippines, the project caters to almost a thousand underserved children and youth, in cooperation with the Roxas Foundation, Fundacion Santiago, and non-government organization ANAKK. (PNA)
