18 March 2014 - The Philippines shall be represented at the 16th edition of the Mundialido, a prestigious football tournament for all foreigner teams in Italy under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Italy.
The 2014 Mundialido, otherwise known as "Coppa del Presidente della Repubblica Italiana" (The Cup of the President of the Italian Republic) shall be held from May 28 to June 29.
The Philippines, represented by Team Deus Fratres Onlus, is among the 25 participating teams in the Mundialido.
The Mundialido is a project of the Italian government to foster cultural mediation and integration of all foreigners in Italy. Since 1999, the President’s Cup has brought together the diverse communities of migrants in Italy who share the common love for football. Participation in this prestigious football tournament is reserved for teams composed entirely of immigrants from countries being represented.
On March 02, Vice Consul Jarie Osias of the Philippine Embassy in Rome attended the first training session of Team Deus Fratres Onlus. He congratulated the all-Filipino football team for making the Philippines proud by qualifying to play in the multi-nation tournament and raising the stature of Philippine football. He noted that through the determination of Team Deus Fratres Onlus, the Philippines shall be playing alongside with other nations which have world-class teams like Spain and Italy.
The other nations represented in the 2014 Mundialido are Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Japan, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Spain and Ukraine, plus two ethnic teams called Senza Frontiere and Rappresentante ROM, respectively.
The trophy cup for the champion of the Mundialido was specially designed by the President of the Italian Republic. During the month-long tournament, the participating teams compete in divisions for the elimination rounds, with the two succeeding teams to face each other in the final scheduled on 29 June 2014. More information on the tournament is found at www.mundialido.it. END