Olongapo sends 2 football teams to national finals

THE Olongapo City-Zambales Football Association (OCZFA) stormed the national youth football scene, securing a historic double qualification to the National Boys Finals of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), signalling the rise of a new regional power in the country.

The PFF confirmed that the OCZFA Under-16 squad topped its qualifying group, while the Under-19 side advanced as the best second-placed team. This is the first time that both age groups have reached the National Finals.

“It validates long years of grassroots work. One milestone was when the Apo Atletico Football Club kept the city’s boys elementary team intact after it won the 2018 regional gold medal at the Pambansang Palaro,” Dy told the Manila Standard.

The breakthrough comes amid a Philippine youth football landscape largely dominated by Metro Manila, southern football hubs like Iloilo, and elite academies, making OCZFA’s wins a historic example of a region-based grassroots program breaking into the nation’s elite.

Olongapo City mayor Rolen Paulino, Jr, traced the program’s roots to 2011, when Amihan Football Club formally introduced futsal as the city’s entry point to football development.

“At the time, the city had only one football field, but had 18 basketball courts, which used them for futsal to develop skills in young players. By traditional football metric, we should not be a football powerhouse,” Paulino said.

Players also credit the success to team bonding and open communication.

“Our dorm bonding really helped us become more composed and confident because we could openly fix our mistakes in the field,” Under-16 team captain Kairul Anwar bin Abdul Rashid said.

Under-19 team captain Matthew Abergas agreed, noting most of his teammates were new to the squad.

“We did not have chemistry in the beginning. The bonding allowed us to know each other’s movements,” Abergas said.

OCZFA coaches Emil Pellezer and Jerome Teope, who handled the Under-19 and Under-16 teams, respectively, said that they built their recruitment and training system around futsal and club-based programs.

Pellezer said that nearly 40 percent of the current Under-19 roster comes from school and club programs in the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, “a situation that placed added emphasis on teamwork and tactics development.”

“We are developing our playing style with 4-3-3, a common attacking setup built around three forwards, as the foundation. But we also need to have a full-time technical director to enrich our player development program,” Teope explained.

In a statement, John Anthony Gutierrez, president of the Philippine Football Federation, congratulated all qualified teams, emphasizing that “everyone worked hard to reach this stage, and we value their commitment in developing our youth.”

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