The Governor’s Cup Football Provincial Championships, in cooperation with Abanse Negrense Sports Programs, officially kicked off its qualifying tournament on September 24 at the Bacolod City National High School.
Various LGU teams participated in two main categories: the 9-a-side with offside for grassroots and age group boys (aged 12-under) and the 11-a-side with offside for the youth boys (aged 17-under).
Different LGU teams and football clubs participated in the one-day tournament, with groupings based on geographic locations. These include the North Negros, the South and the Central Negros brackets.
Under the North Negros bracket were teams from San Carlos City, Escalante City, Club de Los Hermanos de Futbol of Escalante City, Sagay City, Cadiz City, and Victorias City. The South and Central Negros brackets, on the other hand, include Pontevedra, Bago City, Trinity Christian School FC, SSA Universal FC, Dolphins FC, and Tumandok FC.
During the qualifying match, the cities of San Carlos, Sagay and Victorias were among the top three winning teams from the North Negros bracket for the 9-a-side with offside for grassroots and age group boys (aged 12-under). For the South and Central Negros bracket, Dolphins FC and Trinity Christian School FC emerged as the top two winning teams.
For the North Negros 11-a-side with offside for the youth boys (aged 17-under) category, San Carlos City and Sagay City remained on top of their game and the city of Himamaylan defeated the municipality of Ilog in the South Negros bracket.
The top 4 winning teams from the North Negros and the top 2 leading teams from the Central and the South Negros are expected to advance to the quarterfinals in the upcoming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Sports Office (PSO) headed by Mr. Anthony Carlo Agustin organized the Abanse Negrense Football/Futsal Referees Basic Course at JR Torres Elementary School Sept. 23-25. FIFA/AFF instructors Mr. Dennis Estaniel and Mr. Jeffrey Velez facilitated the workshop, which aimed to recruit would-be officiating referees to oversee the Governor’s Cup tournaments.
Spearheaded by the PSO, the main objective of the tournament is to scout potential players to represent the province in regional, national, and international matches. This intention is in line with Gov. Eugenio Jose “Bong” Lacson’s efforts to promote grassroots sports development programs through the Abanse Negrense projects.*
