MANILA, Philippines–For years, Makati Football Cub has opened doors for young booters to fulfill their dreams. It has no plans of stopping anytime.
In fact, the team will make a 37th consecutive appearance in the Gothia World Youth Cup, the highlight of a two-tournament trip that also includes a debut participation in the Paris World Games.
The Paris event is slated July 6 to 12, after which Makati FC flies to Sweden for the Gothia Cup scheduled July 14 to 20.
“Gothia Cup is the world’s largest international youth football tournament. Each year, around 1,700 teams from 80 countries take part and they play 4,500 games on 110 fields,” said Makati FC CEO SeLu Lozano, son of Tomas Lozano, the club’s founder.
The elder Lozano, who just turned 70, has been bringing teams to compete in Gothia Cup since 1983. He received the Gothia Cup Hall of Fame award last 2007 in Sweden for 25 years of continuous participation and received another in 2012 for 30 years participation.
The club, which will use the Paris Games as a tuneup for the Gothia Cup, will be bringing five teams (boys born 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. and girls born 2005) left the country on Saturday.
“[Being a] part of something as big as Gothia Cup, bringing five teams from the Philippines this year is something that the club is very proud of,” said the younger Lozano.
And more importantly, it allows young booters to keep dreaming big.
“Football has given me everything in my life,” said Lance Locsin, a Boys 14 standout from Bacolod who is currently studying in La Salle Zobel through a Makati FC scholarship. “The better I do in my football career around the world, the more opportunities will open up for me. My family back home is also helped by the club because of football.”
“My dream is to play professional football abroad through Makati FC, I have a realistic chance,” he added.
“Since we have been there and won bronze, this year, we’re going to try to win Gothia Cup and Paris World Games,” said goalkeeper Alfonso Gonzalez, who in 2015 and 2016 was part of the team that won third place.
“Through this trip I get to be exposed to a higher level of competition so I am able to hone my skills better,” he added. “So when I go home, I know I am a much better goal keeper than I was before the trip.”
“My biggest dream is to play in Europe professionally, and that dream is already half way there because I get to play in Gothia Cup,” he added.