Tackle football hopes to lure more supporters

Photo taken from Arenaball Philippines website

They may look like a clique of tough and burly men, but tackle football players hope more competitors get into the action with them.

The sport, though, isn’t all about brute force, said Edlen Hernandez of the Bandits, the four-time champion of the country’s pioneering tackle football league ArenaBall Philippines (ABP).

“You have to be dedicated,” said Hernandez. “It takes a certain level of intelligence, agility, strength and toughness.”

The ABP, rebranded as the Philippine Tackle Football League (PTFL), recently partnered with Asian Television Content Corp. on IBC 13 to reach out to a wider audience base.

For the players, it’s a chance for Filipinos to get a peek not only of the excitement of the game but also the intricacies behind the slam-bang action of tackling, blocking, running, ball throwing and catching.

The PTFL features six teams—ABP Season 5 champion Wolves, Bandits, Knights, Vanguards and expansion squads Renegades and Tigers—clashing every Sunday at Philsports Complex.

“We work hard to prepare for each game, to be more competitive with each other,” said Knights player Dexter Sapitula.

ABP chair Apollo Angco hopes the popular American sport will gain foothold here.

“If the Filipino public can appreciate boxing and that kind of physicality, they’ll find this exciting,” Angco said.