Mangyan Youth Football Camp December 28-30, 2023

Mangyan Youth Football Camp

Conducted by the Football For Peace Movement, Inc.

December 28-30, 2023

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Football For Peace Mangyan Youth Camp is to address the social emotional needs of indigenous youths in the Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental area through engagement in the game of football with coaches and mentors.

Schedule Detail:

WEEK 00 During days prior to December 27

- Kokoy will share training plan and structure with all coaches, training activities based on Supercoach App

- Mangyan Youth Camp Coaches Messenger group chat created by Ludwig when participating coaches are confirmed

- discussion and questions conducted over Messenger group chat

DAY 0 Wednesday December 27

CANCELLED

6:00-7:00 pm @ Zoom or Messenger video group call – Meeting with all coaches, lead by Ludwig, facilitated by Kokoy to present camp structure and schedule, Kokoy will set up Zoom link for meeting if needed.

DAY 1 Thursday December 28 – player training day 1

8:00 am – Kokoy takes the Galerian ferry from Batangas Port to arrive in Balatero by 9:00 am, proceed to Stairway lodging

11:00 am-1:00 pm – Working lunch meeting at Barangay Baclayan to debrief with coaches, lead by Ludwig, presention by Kokoy to discuss procedures, set up training spaces. Ludwig to order lunch for coaches.

1:30 pm – Players and coaches gather at Barangay Baclayan covered court, welcome to players by Ludwig, introduction of coaches, presentation of camp schedule and procedures by Kokoy, distribution of color-coded shirts.

2:00 pm – Training begins.

Two courts (Baclayan Mangyan School Stairway court and Barangay Baclayan covered court) sectioned into four training spaces of one half-court each.

Total 52 players are assigned into four color-coded groups:

32 elementary players = four teams of 8 each, 2 girls teams EG1 and EG2, 2 boys teams EB3 and EB4

20 high school players = 4 teams of 5 each, HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4

Barangay Baclayan Covered Court: lead by Ludwig with 1-2 assistant coaches

Mangyan School Open-Air Court: lead by Kokoy with 1-2 assistant coaches

Each team is assigned to a starting court.

PE Teacher Ms. Ana Liza B. Ramirez will serve as timekeeper and will ring the bell at the designated times. It is critical that we are punctual on the schedule, so that training can finish before dark.

2:00-2:40 pm – First session = EG1 and EG2 at Open-Air Court, EB3 and EB4 at Covered Court

2:40-2:45 pm – Teams switch courts and water break

2:45-3:25 pm – Second session = EG1 and EG2 at Covered Court, EB3 and EB4 at Open-Air Court

3:25-3:30 pm – Water break and Elementary teams dismiss to watch in bleachers HS teams take the court

3:30-4:10 pm – Third session = HS1 and HS2 at Open-Air Court, HS3 and HS4 at Covered Court

4:05-4:15 pm – Teams switch courts and water break

4:15-4:50 pm – Fourth session = = HS1 and HS2 at Barangay Court, HS3 and HS4 at Open-Air Court

5:00 pm – All players and coaches gather at Covered Court, review next day’s schedule by Kokoy, any closing remarks by Ludwig

5:20 pm – Dismiss

DAY 2 Friday December 29 – player training day 2 

7:45-8:15 am – Elementary players and coaches gather at Barangay Baclayan covered court, welcome to players by Ludwig, review of camp remaining schedule and procedures by Kokoy. Players are in same color-coded groups, coaches in the same assigned stations each with a second designated activity building on the previous day.

PE Teacher Ms. Ana Liza B. Ramirez will serve as timekeeper and will ring the bell at the designated times. It is critical that we are punctual on the schedule.

8:30-9:15 am - First session = EG1 and EG2 at Covered Court, EB3 and EB4 at Open-Air Court

9:15-9:20 am – Water break

9:20-10:05 am – Second session = scrimmage with coaching

10:05-10:10 am – Teams switch courts and water break

10:10-10:55 am – Third session = EG1 and EG2 at Open-Air Court, EB3 and EB4 at Covered Court

10:55-11:00 am – Water break

11:00-11:45 am - Fourth session = scrimmage with coaching

11:45-12:00 pm – All Elem players and coaches gather at Barangay Baclayan covered court, review next day’s schedule by Kokoy, closing remarks by Ludwig.

12:00 pm - Elem players are dismissed

12:00-1:00 pm - Lunch break for coaches

1:00-1:30 pm – High School players and coaches gather at Barangay Baclayan covered court, welcome to players by Ludwig, review of camp remaining schedule and procedures by Kokoy. Players are in same color-coded groups, coaches in the same assigned stations each with a second designated activity building on the previous day.

1:30-2:15 pm - First session = HS1 and HS2 at Covered Court, HS3 and HS4 at Open-Air Court

2:15-2:20 pm – Water break

2:20-3:05 pm – Second session = scrimmage with coaching

3:05-3:10 pm – Teams switch courts and water break

3:10-3:55 pm – Third session = HS1 and HS2 at Open-Air Court, HS3 and HS4 at Covered Court

3:55-4:00 pm – Water break

4:00-4:45 pm – Fourth session = scrimmage with coaching

4:45-5:00 pm – All HS players and coaches gather at Barangay Baclayan covered court, closing remarks by Ludwig.

DAY 3 Saturday postponed to January – Football For Peace Mangyan Youth Cup

7:00 am – Barangay personnel set up sound system with microphone and get flag ready for ceremony, Ludwig coordinates.

7:30 am – Assembly of all teams at Barangay Baclayan covered court in color-coded shirts 

8:00 am – opening ceremony emceed by Ludwig, flag ceremony, welcoming remarks by Baclayan Mangyan School Head Teacher III Ms. Noemi Bunquin, Ludwig reviews schedule and procedures with the players and coaches.

Rules to emphasize: no trash-talking, no ridiculing other players, no taunting - 1st offense = warning from referee, 2nd offense = yellow card, 3rd offense = red card (suspension for one half), 4th offense = ejection from competition

8:30 am – Games begin: round robin

- 4 Elementary teams with 8 players each, 2 girls and 2 boys teams (EG1, EG2, EB3, EB4)

- 4 High School teams with 5 players each (HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4)

20-minute halves, 5-minute halftimes

4:15 pm Closing Ceremony emceed by Ludwig, players assemble on Barangay Baclayan covered court, closing remarks by Col. Stephen Cabanlet and Mr. Lars Jorgensen

Awarding of medals and trophies

Photo shoots

5:00 pm Dismiss

Finding Deeper Meaning in Neil Etheridge's Words

By Kokoy Severino

For a few brief days after the Azkals' heart-breaking World Cup Qualifier draw with Indonesia, the Philippines Football League Fans United! Facebook group blew up around an impassioned exchange that took place after the final whistle at the southeast curve of Rizal Memorial Stadium's bleachers. 

I had been sitting at the opposite end of the bleachers with my family for the entirety of the gut-wrenching roller-coaster ride of a game. We waited for the customary Azkals post-match player parade to pass by on the track oval so that our four-year-old princess could get a closer look at the National Team players for whom she had been cheering all night. Then, we slowly and methodically navigated through the crowd towards the exit gates at the other end of the stands. Thus, by the time we got to the Ultras Filipinas section, the dramatic exchange had already happened and the players were making their way back across the awful artificial turf of their home pitch. I had just missed the action.

The very next morning, someone on the group suggested, perhaps frivolously, petitioning the Philippine Football Federation to ban the Ultras Filipinas from future National Team matches for their "inappropriate behavior" the previous night. In a country that can be best described as struggling in football, the banning of a group of fans who bring much-needed energy to the stadium seemed rather ludicrous to me; what the Philippines needs is more groups like Ultras Filipinas, not less, both in energetic and noisy numbers and in passionate dedication. 

The long chain of comments from people responding to the suggestion, pro and con, went on past a hundred, including my own which expressed my sentiment that we needed more fans and more noise and more drumming and more chanting at Philippine soccer matches, even at the club level where the stadium is often as uncomfortably quiet as a library. 

And I had to ask what could have triggered such a ridiculously extreme suggestion.

From the responses to my query and the chat chain, I pieced together information. Apparently, the Ultras Filipinas, in the heat of disappointment and frustration, did not respond favourably to the Azkals players' appeal for a viking clap, a cheer routine trending at stadia around the world since the 2018 World Cup when Icelandic fans made it fashionable. Instead of joining the National Team in a spirit of unity, people in the Ultras Filipinas section chose to ignore the call; some even went so far as to verbally mock and disparage the team after what they apparently saw as an unsatisfactory performance on the field. 

Someone on the chat shared with me a cell phone video of Neil Etheridge still in full uniform, captain's armband and all, standing alone addressing people somewhere off-camera in the Ultras section. I saved a link to that video, but days later as I prepared to write this piece, the video was no longer to be found anywhere in the universe, maybe taken down to try and erase any references to the exchange and save some people the embarassment of their regrettable words hurled at Etheridge as he was speaking. 

I wish that video was never removed, because to me, Etheridge's speech ranks as one of the greatest ever delivered by a goalkeeper. He may have appeared to be channeling some Llywelyn the Great from his Cardiff City glory days, but Etheridge's fiery extemporaneous oration that night undeniably was as leader of the Maharlikan nation on the football battlefield.

What I recall from the now-removed video, without equivocation, in no uncertain terms, in a booming voice loaded with emotion and determination, Etheridge yelled on behalf of his teammates how they left everything on the field for the country. His hardened jaw and eyes on fire reminded me of the legendary Peter Schmeichel who would shout at his team with similar intensity as he captained them from between the sticks all the way to the 1992 European championship, Denmark's only continental trophy.

There was plenty of emotion and passion circulating in the muggy Manila air, especially just minutes after the final whistle blew on what could have been a critical victory for the Philippines. The disappointment and anger expressed by the voices emanating from the Ultras bleacher section behind the camera could represent quite truthfully the emotions swirling around the entire Philippine football world in those moments. Disappointment is a natural response to a devastating result. In football, a home draw is just as bad as a loss. 

But I think the anger articulated by those in the Ultras section that night was a bit misdirected. Sure, we should all be angry - but not at our National Team. One thing I have learned in decades of coaching is that the most I can reasonably expect from my team is their best. The Azkals did deliver their best on November 21, almost good enough to defeat an Indonesian program that has been eating our lunch since the 1950's, beating us 20 out of 26 matches and piling up a +74 head-to-head goal differential. Under this light, I would have to say that the recent Philippines record of one win, one loss and three draws against Indonesia since 2014 is a positive sign of improvement.

Where the Ultras' anger should be directed is the historic failure of the Philippine football powers-that-be to establish a system that effectively develops the Filipino youth footballer. I would even go so far as to conclude that the Filipino youth footballer has been systemically excluded from development opportunities on a national scale, thus perpetuating the current process of assembling a national team at the proverbial last minute composed almost entirely of players produced in other countries. The heroic effort and unparalleled work ethic of our current national team players and coaches notwithstanding, this process has never taken the Philippines anywhere close to the big dance; our record in World Cup Qualifying is replete with early-round exits. 

This approach is a symptom of much larger societal challenges that have plagued the Philippines for generations. I'll leave that for the social anthropologists and macroeconomists to dissect, but this is where the Ultras' anger should be directed, which would be more harmonious with broad swathes of Philippine society. 

I know that Coach John Gutierrez, the new Philippine Football Federation President, has seen the light, and his declared intent to bolster the domestic youth development system must be applauded, encouraged, supported, and most importantly empowered, enabled, and held to account if unfulfilled. 

An effective national youth development system has been the key ingredient critically missing in the Philippines' protracted struggle for World Cup qualification. 

For every country who qualified for Qatar in 2022, I have compiled below a spreadsheet outlining their youth records at their respective confederation U17 and U20 championships as well as the World Cup tournaments in those age brackets. For purposes of comparison, the Philippines' record is in the top row.

Legend: QF - quarter-final, SF - semi-final, R16 - round of 16, R1 - first round, R2 - second round, Gp - group, AFF - ASEAN Football Federation, UNAF - Union of North African Football, WAFF - West Asian Football Federation, CAFA - Central Asian Football Association

A brief examination of this table yields indisputable evidence that every team who qualified for the 2022 World Cup had a continuum of competitive development that begins at the youth stages. This is a critical element they all had in common - every team at the World Cup in Qatar had a record of success at the U17 or U20 levels, an overwhelming majority of them in both. It is a continuum of competitive development that is unbroken from youth all the way to the top senior level.

A World Cup Qualifying campaign cannot begin six months before match day one; on the contrary, it begins eight years before match day one. In other words, the 12-year-old Filipinos today are the ones needing to be developed and prepared for U17 competition against their international peers four years from today, and for U20 seven years from today, and then U23 and the World Cup beyond that. These countries who consistently qualify are implementing a national development strategy that is perpetually producing youths year after year who can compete globally.

The Philippines must stop denying our youths their right to development and opportunity. It is time for all of us now to follow Neil Etheridge's lead and leave everything on the field to establish a national development system that will excel at the youth levels leading to the World Cup promised land. Coach Gutierrez is of the mindset to change the direction of Philippine football, and I believe in him when he says he knows how to do it. But it takes commitment on a national scale.

What I hope for now is that the owner of that cell phone video from the night of November 21 will bleep out the disparaging and embarrassing remarks coming from the bleachers, and edit it isolating Neil Etheridge's fiery speech to capture his burning fervor crying out his and his national teammates' raging incontrovertible commitment to country, leaving everything on the field. 

Then spread his speech out to all the players and coaches all over the Philippines as a motivational tool so they can hear, feel, see his passion. Let the height of Etheridge's rage vented in that speech define the standard of commitment to the future of our youths in every corner of the land. Let his passion flow to the mountains of Bukidnon and the rivers of Palawan, to the sun-drenched sands of Samar and the hilltops of Jolo, let it shine all the way to the islands of Tawi-Tawi and along the winding passes of Quezon, let his words ring from the lush fields of Ilocos and Pangasinan to the ancient slopes of Mindoro and Benguet, carried from the smoldering volcanoes of Batangas and Albay to the shores of Zambales and Aklan and the streets of Zamboanga, let them feel it in Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, Laguna, all the way to Kalayaan in the West Philippine Sea. 

And tell our youths unequivocally, "Here is your National Team Captain; we will rise and meet him where he is at..."

****************

Philippines Men's National Team results and fixtures, 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asia Second Round Group F (all kickoff times local at venue):

November 16, 2023 – Philippines 0-2 Vietnam @ Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 

November 21, 2023 – Philippines 1-1 Indonesia @ Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 

March 21, 2024 – Iraq vs Philippines @ Iraq, venue and time TBD

March 26, 2024 – Philippines vs Iraq @ Philippines, venue and time TBD

June 6, 2024 – Vietnam vs Philippines @ Vietnam, venue and time TBD

June 11, 2024 – Indonesia vs Philippines @ Indonesia, venue and time TBD

Kokoy Severino is a career educator and Secretary of the Football For Peace Movement in the Philippines. He has coached junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for over 20 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma and a Goalkeeping Coaching Certification from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and United Soccer Coaches, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk economically disadvantaged students. Kokoy returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and works with fellow soccer coaches to conduct training sessions for underserved youths in impoverished neighborhoods. He is also a member of Initiatives and Hearts for Indigenous People, a collective of soccer coaches in the Philippines who use the beautiful game to mentor youths out of poverty, particularly focusing on marginalized indigenous communities. 

Kokoy is a lifelong traveler and has been documenting soccer matches through photographs in his native country of the Philippines, his adopted home state of Texas, as well as in Singapore, Vietnam, and Washington State, plus more parts of the world to come.

Check out The Adventures of Kokoy - A Travel Guide.

Read and view Coach Kokoy's blog about implementing the beautiful game as an academic and social-emotional intervention at an inner-city junior high school for new immigrants to the United States - Coach Kokoy's Las Americas Soccer Blog.

                 

"Life is not a journey, but a pilgrimage..."

- Kokoy Severino has been in a constant state of travel since he was four years old.

Photo by Dad.

Scouting Report: Philippines vs Indonesia, 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asia Second Round, November 21, 2023

By Kokoy Severino

Philippines vs Indonesia

World Cup Qualifiers, Second Round Group F

Tuesday November 21, 2023

Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila

7:00 pm

Patrick Reichelt (29) chips a cross past Rizky Pora (11) inside the box during the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, the one and only Philippines win over Indonesia ever. Reichelt was 26 years old, which was also the average age of the Azkals roster. November 25 will be the 9th anniversary of that victory. Photo by Kokoy Severino.

Indonesian politics has been known to be quite complex and messy. Since winning a bloody war for independence against Dutch colonizers and their European allies after World War II, they've endured a communist coup attempt, a long brutal dictatorship, separatist movements, a sticky civil-military relationship, tensions between religious and secular sectors... 

And on top of all that - local government meddling in the affairs of the country's national football association, the Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia. As a result, FIFA banned Indonesia from international football from May 2015 to May 2016, effectively ruling them out of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup.

For the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign after they resolved their issues and FIFA lifted the ban, Indonesia hired none other than Simon McMenemy of legendary status to Filipinos. Alas, the Scotsman could not replicate any past historic performances and Indonesia lost five in a row, including every match against their Southeast Asian rivals in the group - Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Like their politics, Indonesian football was thrown into turmoil. Already eliminated with three matches still left to play, the PSSI fired McMenemy and replaced him with South Korean Shin Tae-yong in November of 2020. 

Shin immediately went to work, managing to salvage one point from the remaining three matches. Indonesia ultimately crashed out of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers at the bottom of the group with a -22 goal deficit. 

Shin Tae-yong is one of the most highly-decorated players in K League football history. From the early 1990's to the early 2000's, he scored 99 goals in 403 appearances for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, the only club he played for, winning six league championships, five domestic cups, and four international tournaments, including the Asian Club Championship in 1995. He made the K League all-star selection almost every single year he played and won the Most Valuable Player award twice.

As Seongnam manager, Shin won the AFC Champions League in 2010, making him the first person in history to win the continental club championship both as player and as head coach. Later that year, he guided Seongnam to a fourth-place finish at the Club World Cup. 

It is evident that Shin's forte is developing young players into a world-class team. He himself was a star youth player, making the South Korean selection at every age level, helping the U17 and U23 teams achieve unprecedented international success. 

Before arriving in Southeast Asia, Shin had managed various youth teams of South Korea, taking the U23 squad into the 2016 Olympic Quarter-Finals and the U20's to the World Cup Round of 16 later that same year. In 2017, Shin was appointed to the full senior national team position, taking South Korea all the way through qualification for the 2018 World Cup, culminating in their historic shutout of Germany in the final group stage match, thereby eliminating the defending champions from advancing into the knockout rounds. 

Shin Tae-yong is now repeating this process as Indonesian national team head coach. Since taking over from McMenemy in 2020, Shin has also been concurrently coaching the Indonesian U20 and U23 sides. He reshaped the senior national team, integrating many of the junior players he has been cultivating. Within a year and a half under Shin's tutelage, the Garuda made it all the way to the ASEAN Championship final with a roster of players whose average age was 23.8 years old. Only two of Shin's roster were over 30; the rest were 28 and under with more than two-thirds of them 25 or younger, including four teenagers. On the way to that AFF final, Indonesia went undefeated with a +9 goal surplus in a group stage that featured two of the same Southeast Asian opponents who had last skewered them in World Cup qualifying - Vietnam and Malaysia. 

Five months later, Indonesia fried Malaysia in the Southeast Asian Games to capture the bronze medal, and then trounced Thailand in the 2023 SEA Games final to win their first-ever gold in the subcontinental tournament. 

In June 2022, almost exactly a year to the day when they ended their doomed World Cup qualifying campaign, Indonesia blasted into the 2023 Asian Cup to be held this coming January, upsetting Kuwait in Kuwait City along the way. 

Just this past August, they finished second at the AFF U23 Championship, bowing in the final to Vietnam only in penalties. 

That brings us to November 2023. 

Shin is rolling Indonesia into Malate on a resurgent tear, reincarnated from the grave where they were buried in the last World Cup Qualifying cycle, determined to not finish in the cellar again. Thanks to favorites Iraq, who pummeled them the same night Vietnam blanked the Azkals, Philippines is two goals up on Indonesia at the bottom of the standings after one match day. 

But rest assured, Shin Tae-yong has already put Basra behind them, and his Philippines counterpart Michael Weiss should forget that result too, because the Garuda are fully intent on stealing three points from our 7,102-island archipelago and taking it back to their 17,508-island archipelago.

True to his modus operandi, the average age of Shin's 25-man Indonesian roster for this month's Qualifiers is 24 years old. All but two are under 30, and over a third of the selection are 23 or younger. As they say, age is only a number, and we cannot allow ourselves to be fooled into believing this roster is comprised of a bunch of neophytes.

Twenty-one-year-old defender Pratama Arhan already has 35 caps under his belt, including the three matches that delivered Indonesia into January's Asian Cup. Arhan and 24-year-old captain Asnawi Mangkualam are tied with the most caps on the team. Both of them played the entire 90 on January 2 of this year when they spanked the Azkals at Rizal Memorial to finish the AFF Mitsubishi Cup group stage and send Stephan Schrock off to retirement. Under contract with second-division clubs in Japan and South Korea respectively, Arhan and Mangkualam are two of only eight players on the roster who play pro ball outside of Indonesia.

They aren't the only ones returning to Manila this week who were on that Indonesian lineup on January 2. Nine other players on that roster will be back, most notably midfielder Witan Sulaeman who leads the team with nine international goals. At 22 years old, Sulaeman has already made 34 appearances for the full national team. Fellow midfielder Egy Maulana comes in a close second with eight tallies through 21 appearances at 23 years of age. Also returning is forward Dendy Sulistyawan, who opened the scoring against the Azkals last January. At 27, Sulistyawan represents the older age bracket of the Indonesian roster, where only six players are over 26.  

The most striking characteristic of this Indonesian selection is that 18 of them have represented or are currently representing the country on its national youth teams, many of them playing together for years and progressing together through the age levels since they were teens. Eleven of them have been coached by Shin for three years now not only on the senior squad, but on the U23 and U20 national teams. 

Even though their caps indicate less experience at the full national team level compared to some of the Azkals, many of them have been playing together internationally since long before their caps started being counted.

Years of playing and progressing together through the same national youth teams is an advantage the Philippine national coach has never enjoyed. This current Azkals squad typifies the challenge that a Philippines manager faces when they take the position. Of the 26 players on the current Philippine National Team selection, you can count on half a hand, er foot, the number of players who played together on the same national youth squad. 

Eleven countries of birth are represented on the Philippines national team. Only Schrock, Oskari Kekkonen, Justin Baas, Kevin Ingreso, and Neil Etheridge had any international youth experience before they arrived in the Philippines from four different countries at different points of their lives. Just five players have had more than one year of experience on Philippine national youth teams at multiple age levels - Manny Ott, Marwin Angeles, Pocholo Bugas, and OJ Porteria. Even the four Azkals who came up through the domestic development system never played together on a national team until their adult years. Three of them - defender Audie Menzie and midfielders Jesus Melliza and Bugas - graduated from the Far Eastern University program years apart, and Patrick Deyto played at La Salle. 

While Shin defers more to many players from the ranks of the U20 and U23 squads at his disposal, Weiss has taken a distinctly different approach in assembling his Azkals roster, almost dialectically opposed to his counterpart. The Philippines National Team hitting the artificial turf on Tuesday is an average 32.25 years old, eight years above Indonesia's average age. While Shin's roster fields only six players over the age of 26, Weiss's has only seven players under 26. The Azkals have 12 veterans 30 and up, while the Garuda have two. The oldest player on the Filipino roster at 39, Simone Rota, is eight years senior to Jordi Amat on the Indonesian side. There are 13 players on the Philippine selection in their twenties, while Indonesia's roster has 23. Including last week's match day one, only four Filipinos in their twenties have collected more than 20 national team appearances. On the other side of the roster sheet, nine Indonesian players in the same age bracket have upwards of 20 caps. 

It is hard to conclude definitively whether the age difference was a significant factor last week against Vietnam, whose roster averaged about the same as Indonesia's. What the estimated 8000 Filipino fans at Rizal Memorial Stadium can conclude, however, is that the Philippines lacks a thoroughbred finisher. 

Implementing their signature run-and-gun North American style, the Philippine fast break produced numerous scoring chances on the counter, only for the Filipino bleacher sections to emit collective groan after groan, which progressively turned to frustration and anger laced with not a few obscenities after each successive opportunity squandered. 

Weiss lacks options on the forward line. In decades of studying this game at various levels, I have often looked at a theoretical probability ratio called the collective goal production quotient to rate the potential threat level of a national team's striker corps. Simply divide the selected players' total caps by their total goals scored to date. Of course, scoring goals depends on a multitude of factors, but this quotient is just one assessment of the finishing potential of the forwards on the roster.

As a point of reference, the caps to goals ratio of the forwards listed on Lionel Scaloni's roster for Argentina's upcoming World Cup Qualifying match against Brazil on Tuesday is 473:173 for a potential threat rating of 2.73. One way to interpret this rating is you can expect a goal scored by this forward unit every 2.73 caps. The lower the number, the higher the probability of offensive drives being finished. The CGPQ of Brazil's current striker corps without the injured Neymar, incidentally, has fallen to 4.21. 

The caps to goals ratio of the Philippine forwards listed on the official roster - Kenshiro Daniels, OJ Porteria, Patrick Reichelt, and Bienvenido Marañon is 170:24 for a CGPQ of 7.08, predicting a very difficult challenge indeed to finish the ball into the net. The three players Weiss actually ended up starting at forward - Santiago Rublico on the right, Mike Ott in center, and Reichelt on the left - produced a slightly better rating of 6.36, but still predictive of the dearth of Philippine goals last week. Vietnam's trio of starting forwards going into the match had a collective goal production quotient of 4.32, a significantly higher finishing probability. After Iraq's demolition of Indonesia last Thursday, the relatively young Garuda striker corps are crossing the Celebes Sea with a 38:17 caps to goals ratio for a very dangerous rating of 2.23.

Of course, these figures are indicators of what might happen in the course of a match. But in the fluid game of football, there are immeasurable variables at constant play, and the history of the game is littered with unpredicted outcomes.

The Philippines and Indonesia have shared a long history of football. Since 1958, they've played each other 25 times. As a staunch die-hard supporter of Philippine football, it's painful to read the results. Overall, the Philippines has won one game in the series, drawn four and lost 20. The good news is that Indonesia and the Philippines are dead even in the last four meetings, taking one win each and drawing two.

I happened to witness the only Philippine victory in the series ever, when the Azkals shredded Indonesia 4-0 in the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup group stage in Hanoi. Six of the current Azkals - Reichelt, Deyto, Rota, Manny Ott, Daniels, and Sato probably have fond memories of that afternoon; Manny Ott even scored a goal. November 25 will be the ninth anniversary of that victory and it would be nice to celebrate with another win. But it's probably best they forget about it for the time being. Needless to say, this new Indonesian generation built by Shin Tae-yong would not have any collective memory of that defeat as none of them were old enough yet to have played. They'll have something else on their minds come Tuesday night.

The history between the Philippines and Indonesia actually goes further back than 1958. The archive begins in the 1930's when Indonesia was under Netherlands rule and ridiculously called "Dutch East Indies". The Philippines won in their only international against Dutch East Indies in 1935. Dutch East Indies qualified for the 1938 World Cup to become the first and only Southeast Asian team to do so. 

The next Southeast Asian country to qualify for the World Cup could very well come out of Group F 88 years after the first one. Tuesday's collision at Rizal Memorial will be a pivotal match. Judging from last Thursday's results, Iraq looks poised to win the group, leaving the second place spot for the three Southeast Asian rivals to fight it out. A second consecutive Philippine loss at home would throw the Azkals to the foot of a very steep mountain to climb indeed, even with the help of 10K fans...

Azkals goalkeeper Patrick Deyto (in yellow) guards the goal against the driving Samsul Arif (18) of Indonesia during the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, as Philippine defenders scramble back. Deyto was 24 years old and finished the match with a clean sheet in the only Philippine victory over Indonesia ever. Photo by Kokoy Severino.

Daisuke Sato (11) crosses the ball from the left side against Indonesia during the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi. Misagh Bahadoran (9) looks on. Sato was 20 years old when the Philippines won against Indonesia for the first and only time. Photo by Kokoy Severino.

Manny Ott fires the second Azkals goal of the night into the net against Indonesia in the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup group stage. Ott was 22 years old. This week marks the ninth anniversary of his goal. He will be trying to repeat a moment like this when Indonesia comes to town on November 21 for a critical World Cup Qualifier. Photo by Kokoy Severino. 

Simone Rota (23) pressures Indonesian goalkeeper Kurnia Meiga in a goalmouth melee during the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup as Rob Gier's icer gets through to the back of the net. Rota was 30 years old when the Philippines beat Indonesia for the first time in history. Now 39, Rota is the dean of the current Azkals facing Indonesia on Tuesday in a critical qualifier for the 2026 World Cup. Since the 2014 victory, the Philippines has drawn two matches against Indonesia and lost one. Photo by Kokoy Severino.

Philippines Men's National Team results and fixtures, 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asia Second Round Group F (all kickoff times local at venue):

November 16, 2023 – Philippines 0-2 Vietnam @ Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 7:00 pm 

November 21, 2023 – Philippines vs Indonesia @ Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 7:00 pm

March 21, 2024 – Iraq vs Philippines @ Iraq, venue and time TBD

March 26, 2024 – Philippines vs Iraq @ Philippines, venue and time TBD

June 6, 2024 – Vietnam vs Philippines @ Vietnam, venue and time TBD

June 11, 2024 – Indonesia vs Philippines @ Indonesia, venue and time TBD

Kokoy Severino is a career educator and Secretary of the Football For Peace Movement in the Philippines. He has coached junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for over 20 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma and a Goalkeeping Coaching Certification from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and United Soccer Coaches, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk economically disadvantaged students. Kokoy returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and works with fellow soccer coaches to conduct training sessions for underserved youths in impoverished neighborhoods. He is also a member of Initiatives and Hearts for Indigenous People, a collective of soccer coaches in the Philippines who use the beautiful game to mentor youths out of poverty, particularly focusing on marginalized indigenous communities. 

Kokoy is a lifelong traveler and has been documenting soccer matches through photographs in his native country of the Philippines, his adopted home state of Texas, as well as in Singapore, Vietnam, and Washington State, plus more parts of the world to come.

Check out The Adventures of Kokoy - A Travel Guide.

Read and view Coach Kokoy's blog about implementing the beautiful game as an academic and social-emotional intervention at an inner-city junior high school for new immigrants to the United States - Coach Kokoy's Las Americas Soccer Blog.

                 

"Life is not a journey, but a pilgrimage..."

- Kokoy Severino has been in a constant state of travel since he was four years old.

Photo by Dad.

Scouting Report: Philippines vs Vietnam, 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asia Second Round, November 16, 2023

By Kokoy Severino

Philippines vs Vietnam

World Cup Qualifiers, Second Round Group F

Thursday November 16, 2023

Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila

7:00 pm

Left to right: Kokoy, Kaya-Iloilo FC Head Coach Collum Curtis, and Philippine National Team defender Simone Rota after the AFC Champions League match on November 6, 2023. Rota is the dean of the current Azkals selection for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers on November 16 and 21, 2023. November 6 was Rota's 39th birthday.

What continues to impress me over the years about the Vietnamese football system is that their national team is consistently comprised overwhelmingly of players produced in domestic youth academies, and all are selected from clubs in their own national league. As such, with no foreign-based players, Vietnam has been a perennial Southeast Asian championship contender since the 1990's. Of the 14 ASEAN Football Federation championship tournaments held, Vietnam has been in the semi-finals a dozen times, a record equalled only by Thailand, the region's winningest country. Vietnam has won the AFF title twice, most recently in 2018, and finished second and third twice each. Vietnam's youth development system is obviously doing something right.

Head Coach Philippe Troussier's arrival signals a serious hunt for World Cup qualification by the Vietnam Football Federation. The Frenchman brings with him a global resume three continents and seven countries long, including the Japanese side that won the 2000 Asian Cup, earning him the AFC Coach of the Year Award, finished as runners-up in the Confederations Cup the following year, and reached the 2002 World Cup Round of 16. 

In 2018, Troussier was brought on as Technical Director of the PVF Football Academy in Hung Yen, northern Vietnam. Within two years of his appointment, the Asian Football Confederation awarded PVF with a 3-star designation under the AFC Elite Youth Scheme, one of just three academies in the continent to earn such a status, and the only one in Southeast Asia. 

Vietnam's developmental approach becomes evident in 2019 as Troussier is appointed to the helm of the U19 national team, which qualified for the 2020 Asian championship, albeit cancelled due to the pandemic. Since this past March, Troussier has been heading Vietnam's U23 squad as well as the senior national team, which he took over from the retiring Park Hang-seo, whose managerial tenure beginning in 2017 is considered the most successful period in Vietnam football history. 

Under Park in 2018, Vietnam reached the Asian U23 championship final for the first time, captured the AFF Suzuki Cup trophy, and placed fourth in the Asian Games. They won back-to-back gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 Southeast Asian Games, and finished as runners-up in the 2022 Mitsubishi Electric Cup. Clearly, Vietnam is banking on Troussier to continue this momentum through the 2023 AFC World Cup Qualifying tournament.

The entire Vietnam national squad Troussier is fielding for this week's series of World Cup Qualifiers play pro ball in the V.League 1, which is currently three match days deep into the new season. Many of them are integral players of the "Golden Generation", as they came to be known under Park Hang-seo, and were on the 2018 AFF Championship-winning side that eliminated the Philippines in the semi-finals. 

Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam is one of very few players on the current Vietnam roster with experience on a foreign club. Born in Moscow to a Vietnamese father and Russian mother, Dang started his youth training at Spartak and Dynamo. At age 13, Dang moved to the Hoang Anh Gia Lai academy in Vietnam. His pro journey took him back to the country of his birth for brief spells, and then to top clubs in Thailand and Japan before joining Quy Nhon Binh Dinh in V.League 1. Azkals veterans Schrock, Ott, Reichelt, Ingreso, and de Murga likely remember Dang, who tended the Vietnam goal against them in the 2018 Suzuki Cup.

With 75 caps, 30-year-old Que Ngoc Hai, who captained the 2018 side under Park, leads a defensive line with loads of experience. With over 40 caps each, 28-year-old Bui Tien Dung and 27-year-old Vu Van Thanh are both near the peak of their careers. All three of these defenders have a record of proven domestic club success, as well as internationally throughout the Park era.

Likewise, Vietnam's midfield sports a trio who have accumulated a list of international successes. Captain Do Hung Dung, who currently features for Hanoi FC in the AFC Champions League, is another prominent figure in Vietnam's Golden Generation. Attacking midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc was twice selected to the AFF Championship Best XI in 2020 and 2022. Defensive midfielder Nguyen Tuan Anh graduated from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai youth academy that was built in partnership with Arsenal FC, and was one of just a handful of Vietnamese players invited to train in London. With over 30 caps each and an age range of 25-30 years old, Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc, and Nguyen Tuan Anh provide Vietnam with a formidable experienced midfield core that have the capacity to dominate ball possession.

At the top of their offensive drive are two of the deadliest strikers in Southeast Asia. Vietnam's all-time leading scorer in World Cup Qualifiers Nguyen Tien Linh will be looking to add to his current record of eight goals. His total of 18 international tallies leads the national team, including six in the 2022 AFF Championship Mitsubishi Electric Cup to finish tied as the tournament's top scorer.

Partnered with Nguyen Tien Linh on the forward line is Nguyen Van Quyet, Vietnam's most experienced forward with 57 caps, 16 international tallies, and a plethora of domestic silverware with Hanoi FC for whom he has scored 103 times in 258 appearances.  

No doubt, Coach Troussier is bringing a Vietnam team to Rizal Memorial Stadium Thursday with plenty of quality and momentum, poised to improve upon their aggregate -32 goal differential in World Cup Qualifying. 

But the Philippines will not be facing anything they haven't seen before. Since 1991, the two Southeast Asian neighbors have faced each other 11 times in competition. Vietnam owns the series with eight wins. The only two Philippines victories came in the 2010 and 2012 ASEAN Championships. Since then, the Azkals have lost four straight to the Golden Star Warriors, most recently 0-1 in a friendly last December.

But there is a lot for the home fans to be excited about when the Azkals take the field on Thursday night.

The return of Head Coach Michael Weiss after nine years gives us much reason for optimism. Weiss first assumed the Azkals head coaching position in 2011, taking over after Simon McMenemy's brief but historic tenure that sparked the Philippine football renaissance with an unprecedented run to the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals. The Philippines' upset of hosts and defending champions Vietnam in the group stage of that tournament made players like Etheridge, Caligdong, Greatwich, and the Younghusbands overnight superstar celebrities back home, and "Azkals" became a household word. 

Under the first Weiss managership, the Azkals compiled a record of 21 wins, 11 draws, and 12 losses on their way to a second straight Suzuki Cup semi-final berth and a third-place finish in the now-defunct AFC Challenge Cup, arguably the best period of Philippine football since anyone can remember. Reappointed just this past June, Weiss brings refreshing familiarity after a turbulent nine years during which the Philippines saw ten different head coaches. The German is the third Azkals head coach in 2023 alone. 

Since Weiss's arrival, the Philippines National Team has undergone a makeover. He has recalled some old familiar faces to combine with and lead a fresh generation of Azkals. In contrast with their opening opponents whose entire roster were developed in Vietnam's youth academies and play professionally in their own national league, only six of the 26 players selected by Weiss currently play their club ball in the Philippine Football League and just four came up through the domestic youth development system.

Leading the Azkals veteran corps is the man between the sticks Neil Etheridge, one of the most experienced goalkeepers in Southeast Asia. Now 33 years old, Etheridge is the only current Azkal who was on the historic 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup roster. With an accumulated 76 caps, Etheridge has donned the captain's armband again and has quickly established himself as the inspirational leader the country needs to reignite a run for glory, elusive in recent years.

Going through the Chelsea and Fulham youth academies in England, Etheridge signed with Fulham's senior squad in 2006 and then bounced around on loan with different lower-division clubs, finally landing at Cardiff City in 2017. It was with Cardiff that Etheridge had his most successful years, making almost a hundred appearances as their starting keeper and helping the Welsh club gain promotion to the English Premiere League, thus making history as the first Filipino player in the EPL.

In 2020, Cardiff released Etheridge and he signed a multi-year contract with Birmingham City in the EFL Championship, the second tier of England's professional system. Through COVID-hampered seasons and ownership instability at the club, Etheridge has seen very little action since signing with Birmingham, which is a cause for some serious concern.

Etheridge has not played competitive minutes at club level since last August, a revolving door of managers preferring to start John Ruddy in all league ties and inserting Etheridge for the fewer and further-between cup competitions. With the arrival of Wayne Rooney last month as Birmingham's latest manager appointed by the new American ownership, of which Tom Brady the most successful American football quarterback in history is a minority stakeholder, it doesn't seem like much will change for Etheridge at Birmingham, and he remains on the bench for league matches. 

Nevertheless, Etheridge is a bona fide starter for the Azkals under Weiss, and the entire country is pinning our hopes on him.

At 39 years old with 31 caps, defender Simone Rota is the dean of this Azkals squad. Adopted by an Italian couple after being left at the doorstep of a Parañaque convent as an infant, Rota grew up in Europe and played pro ball in Italian and Swiss lower divisions until he came home to the Philippines. In 2014, Rota signed with Stallion Laguna in the United Football League and never looked back. Now anchoring defending PFL champions Kaya-Iloilo's backfield, Rota brings a distinctive grit and tenacity to the pitch, a sense of perseverance against the odds born out of hardship. During his down-time, Rota volunteers at the orphanage that took him in as a child. His maturity and experience in the current AFC Champions League campaign will be critical in stabilizing the Azkals backline against the prolific Vietnamese striking duo, against whom the Philippine defenders will have to stay particularly disciplined.

Playing alongside the oldest player on the team is the youngest player on the team, 18-year-old right defender Santiago Rublico, 21 years Rota's junior. Born in Spain to full-blooded Filipino parents, Rublico was recruited into the Atletico Madrid youth development academy at the age of six. Now featuring in Atletico's Juvenil A lineup, a regular contender in the Spanish sub>19 national championships, Rublico represents the future of Philippine football. Eligible to play for the national teams of both the country of his birth and the country of his parents' birth, Rublico has chosen the Philippines. This is Rublico's first of probably at least three more World Cup Qualifying campaigns in his life, and numerous AFF Championships. 

In Santiago Rublico can be seen the potential of every pure-blooded Filipino to succeed and excel just given the right development program and philosophy. Imagine what the country can achieve if youth programs such as Atletico Madrid's were made available to the masses here in the Philippines.

Another young Azkal added by Coach Weiss is 21-year-old midfielder Pocholo Bugas, one of the four Philippine development system products on the team. A graduate of Far Eastern University, Bugas made 24 total appearances in the PFL for United City from 2020 to 2023, helping the club win the Copa Paulino Alcantara trophy and logging crucial minutes in eight AFC Champions League matches. Bugas joined Angkor Tiger in the Cambodian Premier League this year, and has appeared in all ten of their matches so far this season.

One of the pleasant surprise recalls by Weiss is former Azkals captain Stephan Schrock, who he convinced to come out of international retirement. Born in what was then West Germany before the Berlin Wall came down, Schrock's Filipino single mom, originally from Maguindanao, worked multiple jobs to support him and his sister growing up in the city of Schweinfurt. 

To get through the difficult circumstances of his childhood, Schrock started playing football at a very young age with the local youth development program, eventually acceding to Greuther Furth, signing his first professional contract at 18 years old with the Bundesliga 2 club. Already at that age, Schrock demonstrated an astute sense of ambition and loyalty by repaying his first professional club with several contract extensions to help them gain promotion to the Bundesliga top flight, which he achieved in 2012. During those years, Schrock represented Germany 16 times at the youth level before making his full senior Azkals debut in 2011. After one-season stints at Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, Schrock returned to Greuther Furth who loaned him to Ceres Negros FC in 2016 and he stayed in the Philippines for the rest of his professional career, putting up stellar numbers for club and country. 

Through six seasons with Ceres and United City, Schrock won four PFL championships and a Copa Paulino Alcantara, was a key figure on the national team through 60 caps and six major continental and regional tournaments, and saw action in two AFC Champions League competitions. Schrock was awarded the Mr. Football most valuable player award twice and made the AFF Best XI in 2019. 

At the end of the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Cup tournament, Schrock announced his international retirement and has since continued contributing significantly to Philippine football through the Azkals Development Team, Azkals Development Academy, and CF Manila where he does double-duty as playing coach. If Rublico and Bugas represent the future of Philippine football as players, Schrock represents it as coach. 

However, even at 37 years old, Coach Weiss clearly believes Schrock still has a valuable role to play on the international pitch, at least for another go at World Cup qualification.

The most capped player on the Azkals roster is also their leading scorer. At 35 years old, Patrick Reichelt brings 80 caps of international experience to the top of the Philippine formation. The German-born striker was on the Azkals roster that finished second in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, which also included Schrock, Rota, defender Daisuke Sato, fellow forwards OJ Porteria and Kenshiro Daniels, and backup goalie Patrick Deyto, all of whom have been recalled by Weiss. 

Born in East Berlin less than a year and a half before the Wall came down, Reichelt developed through the German youth system and spent the first part of his club career in the minor echelons below the Bundesliga. Arriving in the Philippines in 2012, Reichelt made an immediate impact with Global in the UFL and spent five seasons with Ceres where he scored 52 goals in 82 appearances. He has split the rest of his time between the Thai League 1 and the Malaysian Super League, the two most competitive leagues in Southeast Asia. However, Reichelt's playing minutes have been sparse with his current club Kuala Lumpur City FC, making only seven appearances this season.

Aside from the lack of competitive club minutes from some of his veterans, I am sure Weiss has also considered another concerning factor - the aging core of his selection. The average age of the four Azkals strikers is 32.25 years old. One of them, Bienvenido Marañon is 37. Pitted against a Vietnamese defensive unit whose average age is 24.4, the Philippines is giving up some speed in the forward third, which is critical in the Azkals' preferred long-ball style. Weiss will most likely need to start his two younger forwards on top - Porteria and Daniels, who are 29 and 28 years old respectively. Once he subs either of them out for one of the thirty-somethings, the Azkals forward line will slow down significantly.

Likewise, the Philippine midfield is facing an age mismatch. Six of the ten midfielders Weiss has selected are upwards of 30 years old. The only twenty-something midfielder with significant international experience is Mike Ott, who is 28 with 37 national team appearances. Twenty-three-year-old Justin Baas only has 13 caps, while Bugas and Oskari Kekkonen have fewer than ten each. 

The oldest Vietnamese midfielder on the other hand, er foot, is captain Do Hung Dung at 30 years old, and he has been capped 37 times. All of Do's co-midfielders are in their twenties, and two of them, the aforementioned Nguyen Tuan Anh and Nguyen Hoang Duc already have over 30 international matches under their belts.

Another concerning factor is the home crowd. It is my hope, just as it is the hope of the entire Philippine Football Federation and every single Filipino, that the stands are not just full of Philippine supporters, but full of noisy, raucous, vocal, animated Philippine supporters. I guess I've grown too accustomed to watching club and international football matches abroad, where the crowd noise level is constant and fans turn out by the thousands sporting their team colors not just on their bodies but on their faces. I am not used to the dead silent audiences such as at recent club matches at Rizal Memorial and Biñan. Even when facing foreign opposition in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup, the foreign crowds show up and outyell, outcheer, outsupport the home side of the stands. Football matches in the Philippines are often too quiet, like people are there to watch a recital. 

The Azkals need to constantly feel and hear the spirit of the Filipino people during the game. Admit it or not, we the people are part of the game; our presence or lack thereof affects the game. And we must project our presence onto the field of play so that not only our players, but the visitors also know we are there. 

I like the PFF's 10K campaign. But I really don't think it's enough to just be there. If the Philippines is going to progress to the next round, and if we want to see more of Schrock, Rublico, Rota, Bugas, Reichelt, Porteria, Etheridge, Sato and company, then they need more than just us filling the Rizal Memorial stands. They need our voices to saturate the atmosphere, our drums to beat constantly, our noise to fill the stadium. The collective voice, the constant rhythm, the noise of support are an essential component of a strategy that will catapult the Philippines into the World Cup promised land. 

With increased designated places for the Asian Football Confederation in the 2026 World Cup, the Philippines' odds of qualification are better than ever. But if we - the home crowd - cannot accomplish our part in the qualifying campaign, then the 2026 World Cup will end for the Philippines in 2024, on the day before Independence Day...

Philippines Men's National Team fixtures, 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asia Second Round Group F (all kickoff times local at venue):

November 16 – Philippines vs Vietnam @ Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 7:00 pm

November 21 – Philippines vs Indonesia @ Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 7:00 pm

March 21 – Iraq vs Philippines @ Iraq, venue and time TBD

March 26 – Philippines vs Iraq @ Philippines, venue and time TBD

June 6 – Vietnam vs Philippines @ Vietnam, venue and time TBD

June 11 – Indonesia vs Philippines @ Indonesia, venue and time TBD

Kokoy Severino is a career educator and Secretary of the Football For Peace Movement in the Philippines. He has coached junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for over 20 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma and a Goalkeeping Coaching Certification from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and United Soccer Coaches, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk economically disadvantaged students. Kokoy returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and works with fellow soccer coaches to conduct training sessions for underserved youths in impoverished neighborhoods. He is also a member of Initiatives and Hearts for Indigenous People, a collective of soccer coaches in the Philippines who use the beautiful game to mentor youths out of poverty, particularly focusing on marginalized indigenous communities. 

Kokoy is a lifelong traveler and has been documenting soccer matches through photographs in his native country of the Philippines, his adopted home state of Texas, as well as in Singapore, Vietnam, and Washington State, plus more parts of the world to come.

Check out The Adventures of Kokoy - A Travel Guide.

Read and view Coach Kokoy's blog about implementing the beautiful game as an academic and social-emotional intervention at an inner-city junior high school for new immigrants to the United States - Coach Kokoy's Las Americas Soccer Blog.

                 

"Life is not a journey, but a pilgrimage..."

- Kokoy Severino has been in a constant state of travel since he was four years old.

Photo by Dad.