Beach Hut Sunscreen, the #1 beach sunscreen in the Philippines, continues to make waves as a true outdoor essential, concluding its first-ever Beach Hut Beach Football Festival in Boracay and empowering women one goal at a time.
Seven all-girl football teams from Luzon and Visayas went head-to-head for the top spot, with Manila Digger Team emerging as the Grand Champions, taking home the grand prize of PHP 100,000 in cash. Borongan FC won second place, winning PHP 50,000 in cash, while Beach Hut FC Green came in third and received PHP 25,000 in cash. All winners also received Beach Hut products and sponsored prizes.
The Beach Hut Beach Football Festival championed Filipina footballers from Luzon and Visayas, inviting teams to join a series of multi-destination beach football games across the country’s most popular beach destinations, all under the maximum protection of Beach Hut Sunscreen.
The competition brought together promising young Filipina football talents and provided them with a platform to showcase their skills – something that was rarely seen before. And aside from the beach football competition, local luminaries in the women’s football scene also joined in the fun through an exhibition game.
UP Women’s Football team Field Player, Bethany Talbot, expressed her excitement about the experience and the bright future of women’s football in the Philippines. “I’ve never experienced or ever watched beach football let alone an all-girls beach football tournament so kudos to Beach Hut. This is such an amazing project tournament that they set up,” she said.
Likewise, Women’s National Football team Field Player, Camille Rodriguez congratulated the brand for their efforts, “You are setting the standard for believing in women’s football. You put a girl’s team, we have young girls here, very young promising talent, the ates who are making them better every game, to the coaches who always tirelessly give their time. I have a big belief na this is only the start and I’m so excited to see where Beach Hut goes!”
Her teammate, Goalkeeper, Inna Palacios, talked about how important it was to have events like these to help build the football community and become a platform to develop talents for the international level. “Maybe one day we will see one of these girls represent the country for beach football and it all starts in a small community like this. So hopefully this really goes on every year and we’d be so happy to be back!”
Meanwhile, Team Captain of the Women’s National Football Team, Hali Long, shared a message for aspiring footballers, highlighting the value of believing in the process of improvement, having fun, and teamwork.
“Just be proud of yourself and be better each and every time you come out. It’s also a team sport no matter how old you are” she said. “Always have your teammates back no matter what!”.
Beach Hut: Empowering Filipinas, one goal at a time
Beach Hut Sunscreen passionately believes in the Filipina talent in sports and is committed to promoting grassroots women’s football, where it serves as a space where girls further develop their skills. Hence, the brand created Beach Hut FC, the country’s first all-girls football club.
Now in its 5th year, the brand continues its mission to positively impact local communities and empower women athletes in the Philippines by providing scholarship opportunities that allow more young women to get into the sport and even paving the way for collegiate scholarship exposure.
Beach Hut FC scholar, Queenie Magno, said that one of the many perks as a scholar aside from the chance to train with seasoned coaches and travel expense-free for tournaments, is being able to develop sportsmanship: “Kapag naglalaro po kami o nagte-training nagkakaroon po kami ng bonding (We bond every time we play or train),” Queenie shared. “Tapos walang hard feelings kapag nagkaka-talunan kami (There’s no hard feelings whenever we compete),” she added.
The journey as a Beach Hut FC scholar was also very rewarding for Joshper Halili, who initially wanted to retire from football, “Before this, I wanted to quit football, but then Beach Hut, they were like ‘Oh you should join, you should join this beach football’ and that brought my sport back.”
She also shared a message for aspiring women football players, “There’s nothing you have to lose if you try. Just try, just go for it. You think the worst thing that could happen is when you lose – but at least you lose with learnings, with experience. So just try,” Halilli affirmed.
Another Beach Hut FC player, Karia Favis, also expressed her excitement about the Beach Hut initiative and how it helps dismantle stereotypes in football. For her, “football is football” and everyone who enjoys playing should be given a chance to play. “It’s a sport made for everyone,” she added.
Outdoor activities especially in beach settings require an enhanced first line of defense against the harmful effects of the sun’s rays, so throughout the event, Beach Hut put up a Sunscreen Station to ensure that players can have maximum protection and maximum fun through its products that provide 99% protection against UV Rays.
Through its scholarships and Football Festivals, Beach Hut Sunscreen sees a bright future in the local women’s football scene and aims to continue supporting women in the sport by providing opportunities for growth, friendly competition, community, and fun.