90 MINUTES of 11-a side football can be grindy slugfest for the casual viewer, especially when the scoreline is destined to reach 0-0.
However there are other means to make football into an action-oriented affair that could bring a lot of excitement to fans, whether through playing it indoors or on the streets, or minimizing the approach by introducing 7-a side football.
And speaking about the beauty of 7-a side football, that's exactly what former Philippine Men's National Football team player, Anton del Rosario, has been promoting with his project, the 7's Football League.
It was an idea that began the moment Anton hanged his boots back in 2018.
"I did it because I was missing football," started the Filipino-American football player to SPIN.ph. "I started it back in 2018 when I took some time off and we were doing things every Tuesday and Thursday just for fun with some friends, so I figured let’s start a competitive league."
It began with 8 teams, and slowly things spiraled upward to the point where Anton has covered around 16 cities, with over a thousand teams.
Why 7-a side football?
With over a thousand teams, comes the thrills of playing in a highly competitive, fast-paced league, and this was something that enticed Anton.
"I chose 7s because when I was a kid, one of the best things that we looked forward to when we were kids was to join 7-a side tournaments. It was a lot of fun, a lot of action, a lot of goals, gameplay was end-to-end, defenders can be heroes and score goals constantly," he revealed in the exclusive with SPIN.ph.
He added: "It was something that I really enjoyed and I figured, ‘Why not turn this into a league?"
For Anton this is an opportunity for him to introduce the 7s scene across Asia, but this can also be a medium where players can enhance their skills given the lightning-quick nature of the game.
With the tight spaces and the tendencies for teams to press high, players need to think and act quickly. In addition, a high work rate is a must.
"It comes down to small spaces. So people with good feet, they have to be very in control, then it works a lot with the movement and the transition. In football, transition is one of the most important things. When we talk about transition, it’s how can a player transition from offense to defense or vice-versa."
"In 7s, you’re constantly having defense and offense, so having to work that way is very important and having to learn that transition is also important," reflected the former Azkals star.
And due to the nature of the 7s football, professional teams even integrate this game mode in their training sessions, to improve their decision making with the ball.
"If you’re training for a professional team, every training session, we break off into small sided possession or mini-games. And because they do that, that very much falls into the format of 7-a side."
Creating a pathway
However the 7s wasn't just built to further grow the skillset of players as this is also an avenue where J.O.Y. is achieved. But what exactly does this acronym entail? According to Anton, J.O.Y. means jobs, opportunities, and youth.
"Imagine all of the jobs created? From coaches, physios, players, kit men, everything that happens from 11-a side football also happens in 7-a side," revealed Anton. "So we’re creating jobs and opportunities. People who didn’t make it, people who are too old, people who just don’t have the skillset for 11-a side football but have it for 7-a side."
But there is something more profound when Anton thought about establishing the league. While the 7s is renowned for featuring teams and players from the professional level, they also have competitions showcasing the talents of the youth.
With the 7s Football League, the youth will be inspired to chase their professional dreams especially knowing that football can be a great equalizer.
Case in point, take a look at teams like Tuloy FC and Payatas.
"A lot of people think that football is for the wealthy. If you look into the league, we have two sponsored teams. One is the Tuloy foundation, where Fr. Rocky comes through and he has this whole Japanese group that's come in to train with the kids over there. That’s amazing," Anton said.
"Then we have team Payatas so these two teams completely show that football can be for everyone. This is very much what we want to show, taking players from these types of areas and showing that they can be top players for the country. That’s what we want to do. We want to create this pathway."
A lot of sacrifices
And because of this advocacy, this ultimately drives Anton despite the struggles he endured. Anton admitted that he even used his own pocket and spent around $181,000 to sustain the league.
But seeing the outcome of his hardwork, the sacrifices he endured were worth it.
"I see what I create over here and what opportunities that I provide to everybody. All the kids are happy, the parents are cheering them on so it’s stuff that I have to continue on doing."
His desires even pushed him to secure key partners which included big brands like Skechers, and he is hoping that more will eventually come.
What started as a simple play of football in BGC eventually reached across the far corners of the country, including the likes of Davao, Iloilo, Cebu, etc.
And with so many cities involved comes the broader picture of growing the beautiful game of football.
"That’s the most important thing for any league. To be able to start a league with teams and creating a fanbase, it needs to have a foundation and that comes from the city that a lot of these players come from," as said by Anton.
He further elaborated: "And if they could tap into the city and do things for the community, then they have a fanbase that they could build on. They built that foundation with their fans and they could continue growing, not just playing for themselves, but learning to play for their city as well."
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