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Morgan’s Diary – October 1, 2017
Morgan’s diary – October 1, 2017,
The Razkals football teams in Mohon, Phillipines were first created in 2009 by Andy Apostol and his high school friends Ronan and Rhosner. There is a boys Razcal team that is coached by Rhosner and a girls Razcal team coached by Ronan. To join and play in the team is free for the players. Andy Apostol who is originally from the Philippines helps to support the girl’s football team as the boy’s team is supported by a local business man. The reason behind starting the girls football team was to get underprivileged girls into sports instead of going down the path of drugs, and to hopefully give the opportunity to get a scholarship through football. The Razkals team is open to all girls who want to practice and learn football. After speaking with Andy, it was clear that this football team was giving the girls more than just physical activity. The Razkals team was giving these girls life skills in leadership, teamwork skills, self-discipline, and teaching them how to work hard.
Every Saturday the team practices for 2-3 hours. Throughout the week they have move practices after school depending on when the upcoming game or tournament is. They do not have a football field to practice on, as it can be costly and they do not receive funding, as well there are not a lot of football fields in the area, so they practice on a church parking lot made from dirt. Often, throughout the practice the girls must move out of the way to allow cars to enter and leave the parking lot. The team has one coach, Ronan who dedicates his time to help the girls. The team consists of 15 core girls who come to every practice, but on some occasions, the practices can have up to 40 girls, as the team is open and free to all girls.
One word that Andy used a lot to describe the Razkals girls team is “resilient”. Despite only having a church parking lot to practice on, every girl that shows up to practice comes determined to learn and improve. Perhaps the girl’s resilience, along with skill and determination is what helped them to win a gold medal in the national league last year!
It was so great to meet Andy and support him with football shoes, football pants, t-shirts, shorts, socks and long-sleeved football shirts. As well as pencil crayons and a couple soft toys! A very big thank you to Katarina Magnusson and Waldemar Schettini for donating the football pants, long-sleeved shirts, socks, pencil crayons and soft toys to us. We hope that by supporting this hard working and deserving team with new football gear, it will encourage and inspire them to keep up the great work!
Morgan Young
Lööf Foundation representative
