(In photo: Domestic Youth League Director Casey Casem, PFF Coaching Education Head Bob Salvacion, PFF Director for Football Vince Santos, NCRFA President Miguel Gutierrez, Mama Sita’s Business Dev’t Head Eric Mallari with players of the Football for All League)
Various stakeholders led by condiments manufacturer Mama Sita’s and the National Capital Region Football Association (NCRFA) have come together to provide young football players with more competitions to boost the youngsters’ talents and skills.
Their endeavor, Mama Sita’s Football for All, brings together youth clubs from Metro Manila and nearby areas, in a weekly league that will run for at least six months at the Atleta63 Football Field in Bridgetowne, Quezon City.
The 13 participating clubs—Alab FC Los Baños, Blueguards Miguelitos FC Quezon City, Bilibid FC Muntinlupa, ERES EMBO FC Taguig, Gawad Kalinga Mandaluyong, N23 FC Las Piñas, Navotas FC, PAF Youth FC Pampanga, Pasig Laban FC, Payatas FC, Quezon City FC, SLES FC Taguig, Stars United FC Makati— are fielding teams in the Mixed 10, Mixed 12 and Girls 14 divisions. Format is round-robin with no knockouts; the games will be 5 a side for the Mixed 10 Division, and 8 a side for the Mixed 12 and Girls 14 Divisions.
At the media launch held on May 22, 2025 at Studio 300 Makati, NCRFA President Miguel Gutierrez happily welcomed the participants. “At least six, eight, nine months every weekend may laro kayo,” he told the representatives of the participating teams.
To the stakeholders and media, Mr. Gutierrez said, “We need everybody’s support. We would like to grow this community.”
The Football for All League is in its second season, following a successful debut held from January to March 2025 at Atleta63. For the first season, Bilibid FC topped the Mixed 10 Division, while ERES EMBO FC was the champion of the Mixed 12 Division.
Casey Casem, the Director for the Domestic Youth League who is organizer of the Mama Sita’s Football for All League, said that this second season was born out of the enthusiastic response to the first season.
“From the initial 10 clubs in the first season, the league has grown to 13 clubs who are sending 33 teams. We are looking at a total of 500 kids who will be participating,” Mr. Casem said of the second season. “That’s 500 kids na may opportunity for a football future.”
Registration fees are waived, thanks to the support of Mama Sita’s and other sponsors such as Studio 300, Mobil 1, BG, Delvac 1 and gud. Scouts and coaches from schools are expected to watch the games to discover young athletes who can be offered varsity scholarships. “Ngayon even high school nagbibigay ng scholarships,” Mr. Gutierrez pointed out. “If a player is developed early on, mas malaki ang chance niya to get a scholarship.”
Mama Sita’s Head of Business Development Eric Mallari commended NCRFA for their efforts to develop the youth. “We believe in local talent,” said Mr. Mallari, who, like Mr. Gutierrez and Mr. Casem, played for the University of the Philippines Diliman Men’s Football Team under Coach Bob Salvacion.
“Sana noong panahon namin we had something like the Football For All League. During our time as very young footballers, we had only one or two tournaments in a year,” Mr. Mallari revealed.
Philippine Football Federation (PFF) Director of Football Vincent Santos emphasized the importance of this league put together by Mama Sita’s and NCRFA saying, “For the kids to develop, they need competitions. There is no substitute for competitions.”
Mama Sita’s has pledged to back the Football for All League for the next three years. NCRFA is providing 20 size-4 soccer balls to each of the participating clubs.
As his closing statement at the launch, Mr. Gutierrez made a pitch to the local governments and other sports philanthropists. “For the teams to be able to train and get to Atleta63, we hope you can support them. We are providing an avenue for them to love sports. If you could do more, that would be welcome.”
The Mama Sita’s Football For All League (Season 2) kicked off on May 24, 2025. Games are from 9:30 am to 3 pm at Atleta63 in Bridgetowne, Quezon City.
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