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| Loyola star Anton Del Rosario trains the participants of the Football for Peace clinic. Millet Liberato |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MAKATI--UFL club Loyola stretched out its help to the children of war-prone Mindanao as it partnered with the Philippine Marines for the Football for Peace Festival.
For the fifth year of the event, around 200 children from the Mindanao areas which have been struck by the recent battles between the military and the rebel forces flew to Makati on Wednesday to undergo a football clinic brought to them by Loyola's youth academy and the Marines at the University of Makati Academic Oval.
Also present in the clinic were Loyola coach Simon McMenemy and superstars Anton Del Rosario and brothers Phil and James Younghusband.
The kids will also have an educational tour around Metro Manila, which will culminate by getting to watch Loyola as it takes on Kaya in a UFL match on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Highlighting the said week-long festivities will be a football tournament on Saturday at the Marines' football field in Taguig.
"It is a great honor for us to be chosen by the Philippine Marine Corps as their partner in this inspiring initiative. Our shared belief of building the skills of our young people to become responsible, productive, and peace-loving citizens will hopefully lead us to a better country," said Jeffrey Tarayao, the president of One Meralco Foundation, the major sponsor of the event.
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