Genesis Aaron Elefan has moved from Meralco to Kaya FC U17 for the 2018 Youth Football League (YFL) season.
I caught up with Elefan to ask him why he made the move to Kaya. Although it’s always difficult leaving one team for another, Elefan told me that moving to Kaya was an opportunity he could not turn down.
“Meralco and Coach Roxy Dorlas gave me an opportunity to play football and I want to thank everyone who has contributed to my football development,” he said. “But when my father told me about the possibility of joining Kaya and playing again under Coach Lerche, I could not hesitate.”
His father endorsed the move.
“3rd season YFL, the ‘Horsepower’ (Elefan’s nickname) is playing with Kaya football club…congrats,” his father posted on a social media.
The move will challenge Elefan. Kaya U17 has dominated the under 17 competition both in the UFL and YFL, winning almost all competitions in the past five years. But the challenge doesn’t worry Elefan. “I’ve heard a lot about Kaya’s U17 history. I know this is going to be a challenge for me, but I’m coming here because of the challenge,” he said. “I have been welcomed to the group and love my new teammates!”
Elefan comes to Kaya will a lot of experience. In 2016, he was selected to participate on the Philippines U14 team that played in the AFC U14 Regional Festival Of Football held in Brunei. Then, in 2017, Elefan was on the Philippines squad that participated in the AFF U15 Championship in Thailand. Currently, he is a member of the Philippines U16 team that just returned from Japan for JENESYS 2018 tournament.
Elefan’s experience also includes playing with Army FC U13 in the United Football League (UFL) and Ceres-La Salle Youth U14 team. In 2017, he played for the YFL’s Meralco FC U15 team. He was a plate winner with the UFL’s Ceres-La Salle U14 team and, later, was 1st runner-up with Meralco U15. In his second season with Meralco, he helped the team win the championship and was voted MVP of the competition.
Now with Kaya, Elefan likes the quality of his new team and believes Kaya can go a long way this season. “We’ll take it one game at a time,” he said.
The first leg of that journey begins April 8.
