PAF turns back Army to top beach football

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Air Force (PAF) edged Philippine Army, 2-1, to rule the National Beach Football championship at San Remigio in Cebu recently.

The event, organized by the Beach Football Association of the Philippines (BFAP), headed by Mike Athab, and sanctioned by the Philippine Football Association (PFA), drew six men’s teams and four in the women’s side, topped by Cebu.

The other teams which saw action in the event were from Dumaguete, San Carlos, Iloilo and Cebu while the distaff side featured participants from the National Capital Region, Bacolod, and a local team from San Remigio.

The men’s division tournament will be used as a basis by BFAP to select the members of the national beach football team that will represent the country in the Asian qualifying tournament later this year. The winner of the Asian tilt will clinch a berth in the World Cup Beach Football Championship slated in November.

“Earlier this year, we conducted a Luzon regional championship in Subic where KAYA and the UST Alumni teams ruled their respective divisions. The Philippines is currently ranked 35th out of 55 countries in beach football, “ said Athab.