RP bags special trophy in Street Child World Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Both teams played their hearts out and with the score tied at a goal apiece at the end of regulation, the Philippines scored in extra time to edge the host country to win the consolation pool of the First Deloitte Street Child World Cup in Durban, South Africa over the weekend.

It was the street kids’ will to win more than anything else, according to an emotional Jess Landagan, coach of the Philippine football team. “Sabi nila sa akin ‘kaya namin ito coach. Gusto namin manalo (My players told me they could do it, they want to win),” he said.

NBN Sports Radio, through anchor Cecile Quimlat, broadcast the game live over phone patch last Sunday. Enzo Pinga, a Filipino exchange student in South Africa, did the play-by-play with Quimlat. The STAR followed the Miracle team on radio, and held our collective breaths as we continued to pray for one last miracle.

Regulation ended at RP 1, South Africa 1.

A ten-minute extension period was held with five-minute halves. In the first few minutes of overtime, Mario Titoy scored his second goal of the game, enough to win it for the Philippines.

Miracle granted - a Shield Trophy for the country.

Before the team left the Philippines on March 11, it had been dubbed “The Miracle Team” by co-managers Ed Formoso and Craig Burrows because of the many miracles that had happened on the way to getting the 10 players their passports and getting them to South Africa.

But when the tournament began, the miracles seemed to have ended when the Filipinos suffered back-to-back losses, first against the United Kingdom (4-2), and then against Tanzania (2-0). The loss to Tanzania had eliminated the Philippines from playing in the finals.

But then, the Philippine team beat Brazil 6-2, and the God of miracles began to smile on them once more.

Although the Pinoys had been eliminated from the championship, there was still one more trophy at stake. In this nine-nation tournament (UK, Brazil, Ukraine, South Africa, Tanzania, India, Philippines, Vietnam and Nicaragua), the Shield Trophy was up for grabs. The Shield Trophy was to be contested among the countries in the consolation pool.

After Brazil, the Philippines beat Ukraine, 3-0. South Africa, fighting to stay alive for the Shield Trophy, beat Brazil 2-1.

The stage was set for what was dubbed as the “People’s championship” - two underdog teams, one being the host country, going for the Shield Trophy.

The Deloitte Foundation took a risk in sponsoring the Street Child World Cup. It is a novel idea, one that would be a prequel to the World Cup, which will be held in South Africa this year.

But more than that, the tournament has taken off and inspired dreams and teams to rise to the occasion.

After the match, the Philippine team went around the soccer pitch carrying the South African flag, a sign of friendship. Umthombo director Bullelwa Ngantweni-Hewitt, who could not hold back her tears, said, “These are the best children I’ve ever seen, they were the first group to ever say thank you to Umthombo (the street center the South Africans are from), and now after defeating South Africa they are carrying the South African flag, a sign symbolizing friendship, respect and discipline and with their behavior we have seen how Filipinos are.”

The tournament has not only benefited South African street children but every child living in the streets around the world because through this tournament, the voices of the voiceless have been heard.

“We are one voice, one community and one world. This was not just about football,” said Chris Rose of Amos Trust. “It is about a global family and celebrating children’s rights and sport.”

The journey was long, the road tough, but at the end the Philippines has shown the world that they can play football and can win in sport and in life.

The Filipinos were exhausted but determined to show the world the strength, determination and resiliency of the Filipino spirit. The last minute of the game seemed like an hour to both teams. Then the crowd went into a final ten-second countdown. It was time for the Filipinos to finally take center stage and shine.

The weeklong event was an initiative of the UK Human Rights organization Amos Trust. The 1st Philippine Street Child World Cup team is managed and organized by Craig Burrows and Ed Formoso under the auspices of The Henry V. Moran Foundation.

The Philippine Miracle Team in the Deloitte Street Child World Cup pulled off the miracle. Can we ever look at a street child the same way again?