Kaya FC prepares for UFL with the Manila Cup

Kaya Football Club maybe known as a professional sports team, but the 16-year old club is more than that.

"We're into grassroots development and giving back" says Kaya Football Academy president Armand Del Rosario, the brother of Azkal Anton Del Rosario.

That's why Kaya, with the help of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, is holding the first Manila Cup this September 15 and 16 in the Ayala Alabang Country Club.

Over 170 teams will participate in several different categories, all the way from teams of five year old tots to squads of graying CEOs to the country's top UFL clubs.

There will be youth categories from under 5 to under 15, a Women's division, a Corporate division with 40 clubs, and the Open division where UAAP teams will square off with UFL titans like Meralco, Global, and Kaya.

The games will mostly be 7-a-side affairs with 10-minute halves, although the youth levels will have smaller teams.

The public are invited to watch, with the Open and Corporate divisions taking place on Saturday and the Youth teams taking the spotlight on Sunday.

The event is also being supported by Delimondo, with Armand professing a love for their Chili Garlic Corned Beef.

Kaya hopes that this first Manila Cup will lead to the formation of a proper youth league system that will raise the standard of every level of Football in the country.

"We're thinking of the bigger picture. If we want the kids to get better, they need more competition" says Del Rosario.

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The tournament may be seven-a-side, but coach Kale Alvarez is using this as the final tune-up for the upcoming UFL Cup that kicks off this weekend with qualifiers. The group stage begins on the first week of October.

"We'll use this as a test of what we do in practice. It'll also get the team more bonded" says the young coach, who succeeded Juan Cutillas in the middle of the last league season.

Kaya has loaded up on new signings to bolster their Cup campaign. Azkal OJ Porteria, who earned his first senior cap in the match against Cambodia last week, has been getting rave reviews for his vision and technique.

Swede Dario Dakic has also impressed in practice, while new midfielders will create havoc for opposing teams in the center of the park.

Sean Iliff and Fil-Am Antonio Ugarte are exciting new prospects for Kaya fans, while Toshiya Hosoe is another new midfielder from Japan.

An already solid defense is reinforced by the addition of Darren Hartmann. The former Meralco center back, who was loaned to Nomads for much of last season, can also play left back or in the midfield.

Hartmann's arrival comes at a perfect time for Kaya, since Azkal captain Aly Borromeo is still not 100%. The defender underwent minor meniscus surgery and will be out for another four weeks.

Troy Osborne, the towering Australian goalkeeper from the Chicago Inferno, has also been brought in to compete for the starting spot currently held by Iranian Saba Sadeghi Garmaroudi.

Kaya has always been one of the Philippines' top clubs, but they failed to lift either of the two recent trophies.

In the last UFL Cup they blew a 3-0 halftime lead in the semifinals against Loyola Meralco Sparks to lose 5-4.

In the league they finished second to Global on goal difference after both clubs amassed 42 points. Kaya tied with Global with the fewest goals conceded in the eighteen-game season with just 17. But they only disturbed the nets 30 times, a figure equaled by one team, Pasargad, and bettered by four others.

In fact, third-place Meralco doubled that with 64 strikes.

You can follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.