Kampeon Cup set for Bacolod

Representatives from two of the teams participating in the Kampeon Cup, led by Anton del Rosario and Pau San Buenaventura of BGC, and Oliver Colina of Cebu. Also present are Ethan Lee of Palaro, and representatives from AIA: Kats Cajucom (Head of Health and Wellness) and Bernadette Chincuanco (Head of Branding & Comms)

The best seven-a-side footballers will be headed to Bacolod this weekend, as the second edition of the AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup takes place at the La Provincia Polo Field.

7s Football League founder and former Philippines international Anton del Rosario shares, "The AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup is a tournament that seeks to bring the best football players all over the country in a festival-type atmosphere where there are games for kids, a tournament for the youth, women’s, and men’s with the Kampeon Cup in between."

"We are happy the league has continued to make strides in the local football scene by expanding its scope from Pampanga, Manila and Palawan all the way to Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod, giving even more Filipinos a chance to showcase their skills on a nationwide scale," says Kats Cajucom, AIA Philippines’ Head of Health and Wellness. "We are excited for Kampeon’s kick off in Bacolod, and look forward to helping Filipinos—young and old alike—live healthier, longer, better lives through our continued support of football."

The six-team field brings back three teams from the inaugural event back in 2019 in defending champions Cebu, hosts Bacolod, and BGC, which was then represented as Manila.

Cebu head coach Oliver Colina bared that they will be fielding an all-new crew from the Queen City, with thrice-a-week practices getting themselves up to speed.

Hosts Bacolod will be bringing back Stephan Schroeck into the fold, whilst BGC is looking to bounce back after losing in the final last time out. Pau San Buenvatura revealed that aside from Del Rosario, they will be beefed up by Lawrence Baguio of Maharlika FC and Marco Cauyong of Mendiola FC, as well as the El-Habbib brothers best remembered in the UFL.

Joining them as debutants are Pampanga, Iloilo and San Carlos.

A draw was staged to determine the pool participants, with BGC, Iloilo and Cebu drawn in Group A and Pampanga, San Carlos, and Bacolod in Group B.

A single round robin within each group will take place, with the top two teams advancing into the crossover semifinals. Winners will face off in the final.

Del Rosario believes that this will be the start of something big for seven-a-side football in the upcoming months, capped off with an international version of the Kampeon Cup. He says, "The goal for the Kampeon Cup is to be an international tournament where teams from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and others come over to participate. Now that will not only help the sport on a national level, but also foster better relations with our neighbors."

 He also adds that this is an opportunity to unearth untapped talent from across the country, "There’s a lot of talent outside of the city here which gets overlooked and we want to provide the opportunity to those talents across the country and put them on the pedestal where everybody can see them at the top level."