Philippine edition of LALIGA Youth Tournament to take place this weekend

slated this weekend

The LALIGA Youth Tournament is set to take foot in the Philippines.

At least seven thousand fans will get to witness eighty teams and around 1,380 young talents are set to participate in the inaugural edition in the country, which the Spanish top-flight is organizing alongside the RSA1 Group and Epic Management this weekend at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium.

The Philippines will be the latest country to hold their own tournament, following the likes of their fellow ASEAN members Malaysia and Indonesia. The vision of the LALIGA Youth Tournament sees it as the benchmark with regards to grassroots football development in the region, while also boosting the current football talent. Plans are in place for a larger competition further down the road involving the nations holding these events.

Teams have been split into five age categories, ranging from the under-10 to the under-18 divisions, with entries from here and abroad, including from places like Brunei, China, Singapore, and Thailand, among others.

LALIGA's Singapore-based Managing Director Ivan Codina says, "LALIGA Youth Tournament, since its launch in 2021, has been very well received in all its editions. The work of LALIGA and its clubs is a global reference in grassroots football, and this gives us great experience in this field. With this kind of project, we want to help boost the development of young talent in Asia, which has enormous potential. In this sense, LALIGA Youth Tournament is differential for the commitment to offer a unique experience for all participants, both players and attendees."

RSA1 Group president Rely San Agustin shares, "We are very excited to host the first LALIGA Youth Tournament in the Philippines and very honored to be associated with one of the most distinguished football organizations in the world. Through this partnership with LALIGA, we hope to inspire our future generation of footballers to dream big and aspire for greatness."

LALIGA hopes to see the gains made in Spain also reflected and exported onto these youth tournaments. The men's team has claimed the European championships, highlighted by the fact that all, save for one man on their title-winning team, matriculated from the youth sides of a combined eleven different LALIGA clubs, whether in the top flight or in the second division, while also securing the gold at the Paris Olympics. On the women's side, it is highlighted by the recent success of their teams in varying age group levels, both in club and country.

In addition, LALIGA has also established efforts to address situations that are not related to on-field work, from its attempts to address racism both pitchside and on the stands, to its latest initiatives to address youth-level bullying domestically.