Cebu City – The recently concluded Thirsty Football Cup once again gave the FFLA team a fun and lesson-filled experience in camaraderie, teamwork, perseverance, and most notably, resilience.
​For the 4th time, FundLife International, through its Football for Life Academy (FFLA) Programme, sent girls’ and boys’ teams, headed by coaches Rhobs and John Rex to Cebu to compete in the football festival’s 15th edition
All 20 children who were selected to represent FFLA have never travelled outside of Leyte. And by taking these kids and letting them experience new places, meet new faces, and play outside their world, the programme opens their minds to the possibilities brought about by setting goals, working hard, and committing to achieve.
Beyond the competition
Held at the Cebu City Sports Center on 23 – 25 February 2018, the Thirsty Football Cup, one of the biggest football tournament and festival in the Philippines, saw a total of 234 teams coming from all over the country to join the competition.
Beyond the games and the matches, the Thirsty Cup was a ‘journey of change’ to the FFLA players and became a platform to experientially and viscerally show them the progress of their hard work.
The 15th Thirsty Cup proved to them that not all goals are easy and that failure is simply part of the journey. Without failing, the lessons wouldn’t be as apparent, and the success up ahead wouldn’t be as precious.
FFLA teams’ Thirsty Football Cup experience, in photos. Enjoy!
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Not skipping the most important meal of the day. The FFLA team grabs breakfast before leaving for Cebu.
Coach John Rex with the FFLA boys’ team doing their warm up drills at the Cebu City Sports Complex in preparation for their match.
Lifting spirits – Coach Rhobs gives the FFLA girls team a good dose of confidence boost after losing their first match against Classico de San Carlos.
FFLA girls team faced King Forest for their second match. It’s another loss for the girls but this time, they played better and bolder.
After another loss and a draw, the girls’ team were finally able to bag a win against B.R.I.G.H.T!
​Way to go, ladies! And gents who sneaked in for the photo.
The boys’ team are up early and ready for their matches.
The boys lost 2 games to Gingoong Invictus and Don Bosco A, but were able to score a victory against SWU. Not too bad, boys!
The FFLA boys with Coaches John Rex and Rhobs pose for a ‘mandatory’ group shot with the Thirsty backdrop.
Homeward bound - Filled with lessons in graceful failure and an unforgettable Thirsty Cup experience, the FFLA team heads back to Tacloban with game plan ideas and renewed enthusiasm for play.
Until the next Thirsty Football Cup!
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Check out more photos from FFLA’s 15th Thirsty Football Cup experience here.