Daily Tribune25 years of building healthy communities, empowering youth, and creating lasting impact through sport.
SACRED Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu was hailed as champion of the U18 division at the 25th Aboitiz Football Cup, reflecting the growing strength of regional football development and youth competition across the country.
MORE than a sporting event, the Aboitiz Football Cup reflects the Foundation’s broader commitment to nurturing future leaders and creating inclusive opportunities where young Filipinos can thrive physically, socially and emotionally.
SACRED Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu also emerged as the Champion in the U16 division of the 25th Aboitiz Football Cup, highlighting the depth of young football talent continuing to develop across the country’s regional football communities.
REPRESENTATIVES from the Aboitiz Group, the Tourism Board of Lipa City, the Philippine Men’s National Football Team, the delegation leads from Batangas, Tarlac, Cebu and Davao, and representatives of the UAAP Men’s Football community gathered to open the 25th Aboitiz Football Cup Champions League, highlighting a shared commitment to youth development, regional inclusion, and football as a platform for discipline, opportunity, and sustained community growth.
MORE than a sporting event, the Aboitiz Football Cup reflects the Foundation’s broader commitment to nurturing future leaders and creating inclusive opportunities where young Filipinos can thrive physically, socially and emotionally.For 25 years, the Aboitiz Football Cup (AFC) — organized by Aboitiz Foundation — has gone beyond competition by empowering youth, promoting healthy lifestyles, and building stronger communities through sports and values formation. As the Philippines’ longest-running grassroots football tournament concludes its silver milestone season at the Aboitiz Pitch in LIMA Estate, it continues to bring together young athletes, families, schools and communities through discipline, teamwork and resilience.
More than a sporting event, the AFC reflects the Foundation’s commitment to developing future leaders and creating opportunities for young Filipinos to grow both on and off the field. Through football, the initiative encourages active living, strengthens community who can contribute positively to society.
The season brought together top-performing football clubs from Batangas (U16-Blitzkrieg Football Foundation Batangas & U18-Tanauan Football Academy), Tarlac (U16 & U18-Basa Football Club), Cebu (U16 & U18-Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu), and Davao (U16-Rovers Football Club & U18-Davao Association of Catholic Schools Football Club). Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu emerged as champions in both the U16 and U18 divisions, capping off a season that highlighted the growing reach of grassroots football and the role of sport in developing discipline, teamwork, character and opportunity among young Filipino athletes.
“What has defined the Aboitiz Football Cup over the years is its ability to create a consistent environment where young people can grow through sport,” shared Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, president and CEO of Aboitiz Economic Estates and Aboitiz Land. “That same long-term approach shapes how we build places like LIMA Estate — by creating environments that support people, communities and opportunities over time. Through the tournament, we’ve seen players develop from local competitions into athletes who go on to represent their schools, their regions, and even the country.”
Sport as a platform for sustainable development
The AFC season 25 marks a significant milestone for Philippine grassroots football — reflecting both its longevity and the steady development of a nationwide talent system that has expanded in reach, participation and level of competition over the past 25 years.
Beyond developing athletic excellence, the tournament continues to promote holistic youth development by encouraging healthier lifestyles, social inclusion and community participation. The AFC demonstrates how sports can become a sustainable platform for empowering young people while fostering stronger and more connected communities.
Building character and future leaders beyond the game
Beyond competition, the tournament supports football development through clinics that provide children from host communities with access to structured training and early exposure to the sport.
Held alongside the tournament, these programs encourage discipline, teamwork, confidence and leadership at an early age while creating opportunities for young players to engage with football in a sustained and accessible way. Through these experiences, young athletes learn values that extend beyond the pitch and into their future roles as responsible citizens and community leaders.
“For many young people, sport is where values like discipline, accountability and teamwork first take root,” shared Aboitiz Foundation president Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar. “Much like the Aboitiz Group’s broader sustainability efforts and Coca-Cola’s Tapon-to-Ipon campaign, the Aboitiz Football Cup is about creating lasting impact — empowering young people, strengthening communities, and encouraging positive change both on and off the field.”
Strengthening the future of Philippine football
As the longest-running grassroots football tournament in the country, the AFC has provided structured competition for young players across regions for the past 25 years, contributing to the continued growth of football communities nationwide.
“One of the biggest challenges in football development is giving young players enough meaningful matches throughout the year. In many mature football systems, players compete regularly and consistently from a young age,” shared Philippine Men’s National Football Team manager Miguel Gutierrez. “Competitions like the Aboitiz Football Cup help create those opportunities here in the Philippines by allowing players to develop through actual game experience, not just training. That kind of exposure is important if we want to continue strengthening the pathway toward the national team and raise the level of Philippine football over time.”
Creating synergy within thriving communities
The season finale of the 25th AFC is held at the Aboitiz Pitch — South Luzon’s largest artificial turf and a premier venue for football within LIMA Estate — where sporting and community programs are regularly hosted as part of the estate’s ongoing activity calendar.
Situated at the heart of Biz Hub at LIMA Estate — Batangas’ First CBD, Powered by Industry — the venue reflects how sports, enterprise, and community development can work together to create vibrant and sustainable ecosystems that benefit people and local economies alike.
Through initiatives like the AFC, LIMA Estate continues to strengthen connections among schools, local clubs, partner institutions, and surrounding communities, reinforcing the value of collaboration and shared growth.
Embedding sustainability into every match
Aligned with the Aboitiz Group’s sustainability commitment, the 25th AFC continuously integrates environmental responsibility into the tournament experience through the Wasteless Campaign.
This year’s execution is anchored on the Aboitiz Foundation and Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines’ “Tapon to Ipon” program, which structures waste management across all match days and related activities. Waste generated during the tournament is systematically segregated, collected and directed for proper recovery and recycling, embedding sustainability into the operational flow of the event.
The initiative engages players, families, organizers and spectators in shared responsibility for waste segregation and site cleanliness throughout the tournament grounds — demonstrating how collective action and community participation can contribute to a more sustainable future.
A legacy of growth and shared purpose
“Football has taught me that growth is built over time — through discipline, trust in your teammates, and the willingness to keep showing up every day. Grassroots tournaments like the Aboitiz Football Cup play an important role in giving young athletes the opportunity to experience that journey early on,” shared UP Fighting Maroons Football Team co-captain and UAAP Football Season 88 co-MVP Flor Tacardon.
Twenty-five years on, the AFC continues to unite football communities across the country through a shared platform for competition, development, sustainability and community-building — creating opportunities for generations of young Filipinos to lead healthier lives, pursue their potential and become future leaders both on and off the field.
