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Sat 7 December 2024

Football Starts At Home embarks on its 3rd activation tour

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(photo: Philippine Football Federation President John Gutierrez gives a ball to a young participant of the PFF flagship program Football Starts At Home) 

 

THE Football Starts At Home Program is the Philippine Football Federation’s flagship program for grassroots development. Founded by Coach Tom Byer, the advocacy targets children from ages 2 to 6 — the golden age of skill acquisition. Through this, children will learn the basic ball manipulation skills while strengthening the bond with their parents and enhancing their learning abilities at home, which is considered a safe, protected and fun environment.

Football Starts At Home is now in motion, according to the 63-year-old youth football advocate as he along with the PFF visit all 35 Regional Football Association to kickstart the initiative.

“Building the advocacy among 35 Regional Football Associations is key to connecting with the community’s stakeholders. Building the advocacy among the educational institutions, ministries. More interaction between parents and students,” said Byer, who played in Hitachi FC in Japan domestic league and worked with top professional and national team coaches.

Byer said establishing strong advocacy with all federations stakeholders from the outset is crucial for success of the program.

A groundbreaking initiative set to revolutionize the world of football, the movement is gaining momentum, according to Byer, with plans to extend its reach to families across the country.

The Philippine Football Federation aims to produce young talents who are highly skilled ball masters. With this foundation, these young talents will be ready for team activities and can be honed by coaches towards becoming competitive players who can eventually play for the national pool.

“This is a flagship program that we believe will revolutionize Philippine football, not in the short term, not in the near future, but in the long term,” PFF President John Gutierrez said during the launch of FSAH in UP Diliman last June. “There has always been this belief, in my opinion, a misconception, that grassroots development should start between the ages of 6 to 12. This program will prove that learning football can start much, much earlier.”

He continued, “We are excited to have come across this program. This is an initiative that PFF believes will change the landscape of Philippine football, not [soon], but moving along [the] preparation of the nationals…in around six, eight, ten, or twelve years. But it’s very important to start things like this sooner than later because otherwise, we will just have to depend on getting, again, talent, that is developed elsewhere.”

Byer is now back in the Philippines to continue the tour and advocacy alongside Gutierrez and Head of Grassroots Dave Javellana. For the third activation tour, they have already visited Olongapo, Rizal, Laguna, Mindoro, Naga, Masbate and Leyte during the first week of October. Now, they are headed to Surigao, Tagum, Davao City, Sultan Kudsarat, M’Lang, Maguindanao and General Santos City.

 



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