In love with ‘The Beautiful Game’

Eat. Sleep. Football. Repeat.

For a basketball—and boxing—crazy nation, it is fairly unusual to see Filipinos who are downright enthusiasts of football. But such a rare breed exists in this land and they are emerging from the sidelines, spurring interest and attention to the sport.

With the 2018 Fifa World Cup coming to a close this weekend, we take a look at one football fan’s private sanctuary.

One glance into Kevin James Olayvar’s room and you’ll make no mistake that this one here is a big follower of the sport. A football player since high school, the 25-year-old decided to go all out by having his walls painted in his favorite national team’s color with three stripes in the colors of the team’s country’s flag running around it.

“I designed the room orange with the flag of the Netherlands around it because orange is their color and it is my tribute to my grandfather who is Dutch,” Olayvar told Inquirer Property. “He introduced me and our family to the sport, which is also why I support the Netherlands among the countries.”

The architecture graduate began with some DIY decors —printing out pictures of his favorite football players, gluing these on a foam board, cutting them out and putting these up on a section of his room.

Next, he thought of hanging jerseys on another wall.

The football kits of his favorite players—Robin Van Persie, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Paul Pogba, Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford—hang on one side of Olayvar’s room. He said: “If only I could hang all the jerseys I’ve collected, I would.”

Also an avid gamer and an anime fan, he plans to get a bigger table for his extensive computer setup and a display case for his growing collection of anime figures. He admitted that planning modifications for his room can be a challenge, given that it is only 13 sqm in size.

Small area notwithstanding, this guy’s creative use of his space to express his love for football—and grandfather—brings him closer to the pitch.