Docu on young football heroes gets nationwide 2-day screening

The following is a press release from The Little Azkals Football Team. 

MANILA, Philippines – The campaign of the Little Azkals Football Team gets a big boost as a documentary feature about them gets a special screening at major SM cinemas.

Showing at SM MOA, Megamall, South Mall, Sta. Mesa, Fairview, Manila, Marikina, Bacoor, Iloilo, Cebu, North Edsa, Davao, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro on October 25 and 26, is the docu entitled “Little Azkals: Pursuit of a World Cup Dream.”

The film tells the story of 22 boys who were picked by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) from over 1,000 aspirants to be part of the Little Azkals Under-11 team and how they were sent by The British Council and supported by Pru Life UK, ABS-CBN and SM Cinema, for a three-week elite training in England. The boys competed against England’s top young football clubs and were taught by experts of the Loughborough University, an educational institution affiliated with the British Olympic Association. The U-11 Boys’ Team trains locally for free at the Acacia Estate Field courtesy of DMCI. 

This new documentary by Baby Ruth Villarama is a first of a series intended to chronicle the boys’ growth as they make their way towards the 2019 FIFA Under-17 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.  It depicts how the young Filipinos played against more experienced young footballers, submitted themselves to grueling drills, and endured homesickness and the cold English weather to represent the country. For most of the Little Azkals, the trip to England marked their first time to go abroad and be away from their families.  “They all carry hearts of champions,” Baby Ruth says of the boys.

The film also shows how the Little Azkals’ coaches Eliezar Fabroada, Raymond Pili, Laurence Dave Gerali and Percy Guarin guided and encouraged them on this first journey. It also has interviews from Azkals Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong and Rob Gier. Rob, in fact, personally went to Loughborough to cheer and support the Little Azkals when he learned they were there. 

“Little Azkals: Pursuit of a World Cup Dream” is rated G (General Patronage), suitable for all ages by the Movie and Television Classification Board (MTRCB). The film is a co-production of Voyage Studios and Spears Activation and PR Company with Baby Ruth Villarama as director; Albert Almendralejo, Doy del Mundo and Chuck Gutierrez as creative producers; and the Gawad Kalinga SipaG Program as co-presenter. The docu features music by award-winning composer Von de Guzman. Its sound was mixed by top sound engineer Mike Idioma on Dolby 5.1—the global standard in surround sound. 

The producers are open to requests for screenings in schools and interested institutions. For inquiries and more information, log on to littleazkals.com.ph, follow LittleAzkalsPH on Twitter and like LittleAzkalsMovie on Facebook.  – Rappler.com/Press Release