Azkals, the name, the legend and the key figures who helped shape up Philippine football, is back on mainstream as the team will represent the Philippines in the Asia 7’s Championship in Malaysia in October.
In a press conference held recently at Dillinger’s in Greenbelt, Makati, several key members of the Azkals squad – Stephan Schrock and Misagh Bahadoran – along with Anton Del Rosario, who serves as commissioner of this event, shared their views on bringing back the Azkals to carry the football team competing in this event.
“The Azkals will be attached to representing the national team to carry the squad (in the Asia 7’s Championship). For the longest time, it was attached to the men’s national team. But why not? Why keep the Azkals moniker in the closet? On the field, it gave a lot of pride and hope, made a lot of live happening for a lot of players over 15 years,” said Schrock, who played for the Azkals from 2011 to 2022 before retiring.
Fueled by his love for the game, Schrock came out of retirement last year to play in a friendly game against Nepal and was once again called up for duty to compete against Vietnam and Indonesia late last year for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
“With a sport coming up as intense as the A7s, it’s a good restart and a good connection with the 7s, rising up the game of the 7s and the Azkals, reviving and doing our part in this,” added Schrock, who announced his retirement for the second time this year playing for the national team, but was persuaded by friends and former teammates to join the revival of the Azkals for the coming A7’s.
Del Rosario, who now serves as commissioner for the Asia 7’s Championship, shared similar views, believing that the Azkals have a great responsibility for Philippine football.
“All of us have a different perspective on why we believe the Azkals name should be kept,” added Del Rosario, who represented the Philippine team from 2004 to 2018.
Bahadoran, who burst onto the Philippine football scene in 2014 as part of the squad for the FIFA World Cup qualification after substituting Angel Guirado, is likewise excited to share the field once more with his teammates.
He was a consistent fixture in the Philippine futsal team and to carry the Azkals name once more gives him some sense of pride and joy.
“For me, Azkals was the foundation of football in the Philippines,” added Bahadoran. “By Azkals, I graduated dentistry, then I started to play football (with the national team). Azkals inspired so many kids in the Philippines, so many people to play football.”
“It’s very good to use the Azkals name for the 7’s and still bring the name and inspire a lot of players again to play football. I don’t see any reason that Azkals should be kept (away from football) because football was really built in the name of Azkals.”
Del Rosario, on the other hand, is a firm believer that the name Azkals is mentioned in the same breath with Philippine football.
“I really believe that keeping that name alive because it has so much history with Philippine football. It was very important to me,” added Del Rosario. “Being able to control this, we will be able to keep this name alive, forever. I want it to be kept alive forever because I believe it will always be related to Philippine football.”
The Philippine Azkals will be back competing for flag and country once more but this time in the prestigious ASIA 7’s Championships set to unfold on October 9-12, 2024 at the EV Arena Elmina in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Schrock and Bahadoran will be the co-captains of the team. Veteran footballer Hamed Hajimedhedi will call the shots for the Azkals while Patrick Ace Bright will be the team manager.
Established in 2022, ASIA 7’s is the premier Asian International 7 a side tournament that features national teams from several countries and territories in the continent. At least eight teams including Malaysia, India, Japan, China, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines have confirmed their participation in the tournament. Five more teams are expected to compete in the tournament.
“The main goal is to make 7 aside more accessible all over Asia. This competition can be as big as the Asian Football Confederation’s tournaments and we just have to work extra hard to make this possible. The Asia 7’s Championships is a positive step towards that direction,” added Del Rosario.
A tune up game against celebrity football players and the Azkals is also scheduled on October 6. The final composition of the team is also expected to be announced on or before the exhibition game.
