YOUTH P.I. SOCCER ON ISLAND

PRESS RELEASE – Top teams in the U12 and U14 divisions of the Chevrolet Robbie Webber Youth Soccer League Spring season, as well as a trio of U17 all-girls teams, will lace up their cleats this weekend against visiting teams from the Philippines.

The 2013 Pacific Summer Invitational tournament begins at 4 p.m. Friday with an opening ceremony at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Matches in all three divisions kick off at 5 p.m. on both the upper and lower turf pitches. The round-robin matches continue Saturday beginning at 9 a.m., with playoffs scheduled for Sunday.

“This tournament is an excellent opportunity for both the visiting players from the Philippines and Guam’s youth soccer club teams,” said Gideon Diestro, sports advisor for Kaizen Philippines, one of the organizers of the tournament. “The visiting teams are afforded the opportunity to play against some of Guam’s top club teams in a world-class facility like the GFA National Training Center, and for Guam’s youth club teams, it’s an opportunity to play against their peers in the region in a tournament-style setting.

“I would like to thank GFA for assisting tremendously in realizing this youth tournament,” Diestro added.

Opening matches in the U12 division will feature Guam’s ASC Islanders against Guam’s Tigers at 5 p.m., followed by Southville International School and Colleges from the Philippines playing the Wolverines at 6:30 p.m.

In the U14 division, Quality Distributors FC will open play against the Wings FC, followed by the Rizal Football Association (RIFA) U14 team against Community First Dededo Soccer Club at 7 p.m.

In the U17 all-girls division, Southville takes on Quality Distributors FC 1 first, followed by Quality Distributors FC 2 playing against the Orange Crushers at 6:15 p.m.

The teams in the U12 division, as well as the U17 all-girls division, will play in a 7-a-side format, while the U14 division teams will compete in the full 11-a-side format.

RIFA is composed of Manila-based member schools that provides a venue for children to excel in the sport of football, the RIFA Facebook page states. Southville is an international school in Manila, Philippines, with its K-12 program accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), its Web site states. The school competes in RIFA leagues and tournaments, as well as the Metro Manila Girls Football Association leagues and tournaments for football, the school’s Web site states.