Philippine Azkal players James and Phil Younghusband capped the successful holding of their first ever football clinic for physical education (PE) teachers by posing with the 240 participants at BNS parade grounds, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Held between February 26 and 27, 2011, the football clinic was the Filipino-British brothers' way of reaching more people in raising local interest for football. Mayor Lani Cayetano (far right, standing) thanked the siblings for imparting their football knowledge to Taguig teachers, which in turn would be passed on to their students.

Filipino-Brits James and Phil Younghusband, the popular Philippine Azkal members behind the Younghusband Football Academy, have expressed interest in returning to Taguig City this summer to teach more people, especially the youngsters, on how to play the global sport of football.

This was bared by Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano after the successful holding of a two-day football clinic at the BNS Parade Ground Naval Station, Fort Bonifacio, which was gamely joined by some 240 Physical Education (PE) instructors and teachers from all over the city.

"The Azkals have granted our wish. Come this summer, they have agreed to teach the young people of Taguig how to play football European style," Mayor Cayetano happily announced.

Mayor Cayetano likewise said that she felt proud the Younghusband brothers first chose the P.E. instructors of Taguig as their "students" to whom they imparted their knowledge and insights on the game of football. The football clinic was held between February 26 and 27.

Twenty-four-year-old James himself seemed to be satisfied with the performance of the teachers, who will be tasked to share their knowledge to their own students in hopes of spreading local interest for football. "It's been pretty good so far."

"This is a 'train the trainers program.' It's like a coaching seminar for public school PE teachers where we teach them little fun drills for little kids just to keep them interested in the sport. Through this we are able to reach more people," said the elder Younghusband.

Among the football drills that the Taguig teachers were made to undergo involved basic football skills such as dribbling the ball from point A to B; passing the ball between two teammates and a relay race. Certificates were handed out to the participants on final day of the clinic.

Phil, 23, for his part, said that one of the goals of the Younghusband Football Academy is to show that Filipinos can excel in football.

Thousands of students from the 22 public elementary schools and 12 public high schools in Taguig are expected to benefit from Younghusbands' football clinic.

Mayor Cayetano pointed out that the purpose of the program is to bring the sport of football closer to the youth, especially now that the Azkals have proven that Filipino can play on even terms with the top teams in Southeast Asia.

She reckoned that Taguig-home of the Global City which is globally competitive in the realm of business-is the perfect place to start the local development of football, a global sport

Honing their skills at the popular Chelsea Football Club of England, the Younghusband siblings are touring the Philippines through their football clinics in hopes of discovering new talent that would one day further the success of the Philippine national team.

The Philippine Azkals are currently in the qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup wherein they recently dominated the Mongolia Blue Waves (2-0) in front of a jam-packed Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

The Azkals are single-handedly responsible for the meteoric rise of football in terms of its popularity in the Philippines.