3 young Filipino players chosen to join AFC e-Goal program

E-Goal programme participants from the Philippines. PFF PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Three young Filipino footballers were chosen to be part of the Asian Football Confederation’s e-Goal program.

Philippine national team players Cian Gabriel Galsim, Rae Mikaella Tolentino, Mikaela Jacqueiline Villacin joined 57 other players from the member assocations in the program “that’s designed to empower the youth through innovative and educational opportunities.”

Among the other goals of e-Goal are to equip the participatns “with the skill sets to lead social change” and build and strenghten “foundations for them to encourage their peers to live a more purposeful life through football.”

Galsim was part of the Philippines’ Under-15 national team that competed in the ASEAN Football Federation U15 Championships and AFC U16 Championship Qualifiers in 2019.

“The course will help me become not just a better football player but also a better person,” said Galsim in a statement from the Philippine Football Federation. “We expect that we will be better youth leaders and will serve as role models in our respective schools and in our respective clubs.”

Tolentino and Villacin, meanwhile, were teammates at the Philippine Girls Under-16 team that placed fourth in the AFF U15 Girls’ Championship in 2019.

“I am honored to represent the Philippines and use football to make a difference in my community,” said Tolentino. “I look forward to learning and expanding my understanding of football and its effects over the entire community.”

“I am excited to share my knowledge and skills and also interact with the players and people that I will be attending with,” said Villacin. “I will try to understand and learn as much as I can during the program so that I can share my learnings to people who are aspiring to play football.”

Tolentino, Villacin, and Galsim will attend several online sessions where they will learn from mentors in important topics such as Sport for Development, Philanthropy in Football, Health and Well-being, Civic Engagement, and Peer Education.