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Marañon wants to help Pinoy kids through football academy

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/sports/12/02/football_ucfc_bienvenido-maranon.jpg"/><figcaption>United City FC striker Bienvenido Marañon. Photo courtesy of United City FC on Facebook</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- Bienvenido Marañon knows first hand how crucial a football academy can be to a child.The United City FC striker still recalls his humble beginnings in Cadiz, Spain, where they could not afford to buy football shoes or balls.&quot;I didn&#x27;t buy anything. My family was very, very humble,&quot; Marañon said during a recent appearance on &quot;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/289088151927844/videos/3578653932232565">The Game</a>.&quot;&quot;After a few years, when the people gave the chance to play with academy here in Spain, I started to improve. I started to get a salary. I started to become a professional in that time. So after that, my life changed,&quot; he said.Through football, Marañón was able to have a better life and even found a new home in the Philippines. He is now close to gaining his Filipino citizenship, after the Senate Committee on Justice last week approved the bill for his naturalization.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/24/21/senate-committee-on-justice-approves-naturalization-bids-of-kouame-maranon">READ: Senate Committee on Justice approves naturalization bids of Kouame, Maranon</a></li></ul>Once he is a naturalized Filipino, Marañón is determined to help the Philippine Azkals in their international campaigns -- and he is also already thinking about the country&#x27;s future in the sport.&quot;I would like to… create a football academy, to help the Filipino kids,&quot; he said. &quot;I have many plans.&quot;A football academy, says Marañón, can provide a young child with a pathway to a better future. &quot;I would like to give them the chance to have a better future in their life, because I think they deserve it,&quot; he said. &quot;Sometimes, they can&#x27;t have a better future because they have no chance, they have no opportunity. So my intention is to give them the opportunity.&quot;&quot;For me, I had the opportunity when I was young. So I want to translate to them what happened to me,&quot; he added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/17/21/football-grateful-for-citizenship-maran-looks-to-help-azkals-ph-football">READ: Grateful for citizenship, Marañón looks to help Azkals, PH football</a></li></ul>Not only will these children have a better future, but they will also be crucial to the growth of Philippine football, says Marañón.&quot;I&#x27;m sure after five, ten years, we will see them playing in the PFL,&quot; he said.At the moment, Marañón is patiently waiting for his naturalization to be completed. It still has to be approved by lawmakers on the second and third readings, before being transmitted for President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s signature.&quot;Hopefully, the process is going well, and hopefully soon, we can do it,&quot; said Marañón.

Bienvenido Marañón knows first hand how crucial a football academy can be to a child.

Bienvenido Marañón knows first hand how crucial a football academy can be to a child.