BAGUIO CITY – A hundred young athletes from eight public elementary schools in Baguio City participated in a world-class football training session led by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club coaches as part of AIA Philippines’ 2025 Healthiest Schools Football Clinic. The participating schools included Pinsao Elementary School, Crystal Cave Integrated School, Baguio Central School, Bakakeng Elementary […]
BAGUIO CITY – A hundred young athletes from eight public elementary schools in Baguio City participated in a world-class football training session led by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club coaches as part of AIA Philippines’ 2025 Healthiest Schools Football Clinic.
The participating schools included Pinsao Elementary School, Crystal Cave Integrated School, Baguio Central School, Bakakeng Elementary School, Jose P. Laurel Elementary School, Doña Aurora Elementary School, Bonifacio Elementary School, and Manuel Roxas Elementary School.
“In their lesson plans, they have tools na pwede nilang gamitin on healthy eating, healthy living, mental health, and then health and environment. The teachers are now trained on how to really communicate that to their students and then hopefully, the students will pick it up and become part of their healthy habits,” the AIA representative explained. “We’re building healthy habits sa mga bata habang bata pa lang sila para they can continue until they grow up.”
Held on March 8 at the Baguio Athletic Bowl, the event was a collaboration between AIA Philippines, the Department of Education (DepEd) Baguio, and Tottenham Hotspur, with the goal of promoting active lifestyles, proper nutrition, and overall well-being among students. Coaches Shannon Moloney and Lily Jervis, along with 21 trainers, facilitated the drills, guiding students through various exercises across multiple stations.
The AIA Healthiest Schools Program revolves around four key pillars: healthy eating, active lifestyles, mental wellbeing, and health and sustainability. The football clinic served as an avenue to ingrain these concepts in the athletes in a fun and interactive way.
The AIA Healthiest Schools Program is implemented in multiple international countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and more, reinforcing the importance of health literacy among all students regardless of their ethnicity or background. By Julianna Mallari
Beyond the football clinic, the program extends its reach into the classroom. The AIA Healthiest Schools Program provides teachers with educational resources including films, presentations, and interactive activities to integrate health and wellness topics into their lesson plans.
The training session lasted three hours and concluded with a meal distribution for the young athletes.
AIA Philippines became an official sponsor of Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, guided by its mission to help Filipinos live healthier, longer, better lives. The partnership promotes football development at the grassroots level by offering professional training to the youth in underserved communities across Asia.
Through AIA’s ongoing partnership with DepEd, plans to expand the program to more schools in Baguio and across the Philippines are in the works.
“We partnered with DepEd Baguio because we believe that football here in Baguio City is a booming sport. So, that is why we chose Baguio rin because we garnered support from DepEd on this aspect,” an AIA representative shared. “It is really an integrated approach. Football lang yung naging avenue namin to convey that message because, for us, syempre, kids learn while playing.”
