BY JERRY NIEL M. LORA/DNSC Intern
THE SEASON 25 of the Aboitiz Football Cup is set to ignite the youth soccer scene in Davao City, drawing rising talents from across Mindanao to compete for a chance to participate in the national stage.
Tournament organizers confirmed that matches will kick off on February 28 at Tionko Football Grounds, featuring 110 participating teams.
Day one will be the Under-7, Under-9, Under-11, Under-13, Under-15, and the Mommy’s and Daddy’s divisions, while day two will showcase the even-numbered categories–the Under-6, Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-16, Under-18, along with the newly introduced 30-and-above division.
Meanwhile, the champions of the U16 and U18 categories will advance to compete in the AFC Champions League, scheduled in the last week of May at the Aboitiz Pitch in Batangas.
The tournament is organized and implemented in partnership with Davao South Regional Football Association and CR7 Food Truck Football Club, highlighting a unified push to strengthen grassroots football development in the region.
Tournament Organizer CR7 Foodtruck Football Club Inc, Liza Kryztel Duriza-Valencia emphasized innovation for the Davao leg, introducing a fully digital tournament system to streamline match operations and provide real-time updates.
“The club is organizing this season for the Davao League. We are very excited to announce that the club has involved our program that will be a first time, we will be hosting the tournament online on Tournify and all schedules, results, even the team information and the updating will also be live online so this is a very good innovation that we have put into the Aboitiz Football Cup for this Davao leg,” Duriza-Valencia said.
Aside from competition, she stressed that the focus remains on athlete development rather than financial incentives.
“Prizes are medals and trophies only, and in terms of amount, as a club and tournament organizer, we never really encourage cash prizes for football tournaments because the purpose of playing is to be equipped, so we don’t want them to play for cash prizes,” she added.
Community engagement also forms part of Season 25, including environmental initiatives at Aboitiz Cleanergy Park and grassroots clinics designed to introduce football fundamentals to aspiring players.
Supported by Davao Light and Therma South, the tournament underscores the growing momentum of youth football in Mindanao while positioning Davao as a key hub for developing the country’s next generation of football stars.
