Goals over guns - Philippine ex-footballer leads campaign to inspire remote youth toward positive paths

Ruptly

Goals over guns - Philippine ex-footballer leads campaign to inspire remote youth toward positive paths

"Elmer Bedia, a former Philippine national team footballer who also played for Australia's Brisbane City, is leading the Football for Peace (FfP) movement in his hometown of Barotac Nuevo - widely known as the country's 'Football Capital of the Philippines'. The initiative aims to encourage children in remote areas to pursue positive lifestyles and avoid being drawn into wrongdoing. Footage captured on Monday shows Bedia coaching young football players through training sessions before organising matches. The children also receive guidance and life advice from the coach, as well as insights shared by military personnel. "We involved the kids to prevent them from doing bad vices and also avoid them being involved in wrongdoing. So we put Football for Peace as one of our armouries to combat these problems," Bedia explained. "This is the only way that we can change - maybe not all of the kids, but maybe one life of a kid - is a good thing for this Football for Peace," he continued. Lieutenant Ronald Apiladas, Company Commander for Civil-Military Operations of the Philippine Army, warned that minors can be lured into insurgent groups and trained to engage in wrongdoing, underscoring the importance of initiatives such as FfP. "We should continue and uphold the peace in our community and happy families that we are reaping now in our communities," he said. Bedia also encouraged the children to pursue football and extended his best wishes to the Philippine Women's National Team ahead of the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. "Being a national team player, it’s one of the dreams that a player can have – to represent this country in the World Cup <...> Hopefully, one day our men’s football team will be there to compete in the World Cup," the man expressed. Adolescent crime in the Philippines, officially tracked as Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL), has gradually decreased over the past decade, but it remains significant, with approximately 5,000 to 15,000 cases reported annually. This is due to factors such as poverty, gang involvement, and substance abuse."

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