Philippine sports has another young name you may want to put on your radar, and his name is Jared Peña.
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Football may not be as popular in the Philippines as it is in other countries. However, the sport still has a following locally, especially with Filipino players making moves on the field. Remember when The Filipinas made history at the World Cup last year as they reminded us of the potential of Pinoys in all kinds of sports? Yeah, they’re iconic for that. And if there’s another promising young Filipino footballer to have on your radar, it’s Jared Peña.
At just 18 years old, Jared is a national athlete and making a name for himself not just with his social media posts, but also as one of the new generation of Filipino football players repping the PH in the sport worldwide. Get to know more about the Gen Z athlete below.
HE STARTED PLAYING FOOTBALL WHEN HE WAS A KID
Jared is proof of what happens when you give opportunities to athletes as early as when they’re kids. According to the young football player, his earliest memory of the sport was when he was four years old and saw a group of kids playing football in Alabang and was curious as to what they were playing. His love for football quickly bloomed after that, with Jared joining his first football club at 10 years old. The rest, as they say, is history.
SPORTS RUNS IN THE FAMILY
As a member of the national team and a student at Western Reserve Academy, Jared is a pro on the field. And unsurprisingly, football runs in his blood. His father was a former football player while his older brother, Justin, is also a professional football player.
HE’S A LEO
In case you’re curious, Jared was born on August 5, 2006, making him a Leo.
HE HAS A BIG FOLLOWING ONLINE
If you’ve heard of Jared Peña before, chances are you’ve come across one of his many viral videos. The Gen Z athlete has a following online with over 1.1 million followers on Instagram and 2.2 million followers on TikTok. His videos and posts receive thousands of comments and even more likes. It’s a kind of engagement that can go toe-to-toe with the major Gen Z stars.
“Sometimes I forget I have a platform. Because I haven’t really done anything about it. Countless times, my friends or my mom say you should do something with it, but right now, I’m just doing it for fun,” he once said when asked about his viral fame. And his fans aren’t just limited to Filipinos as he also has fanbases in other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Indonesia. He even held a mini-fanmeet in Indonesia earlier this year. Okay international star.
HE HAS A SECOND TIKTOK ACCOUNT
Jared’s TikTok game is next-level with his videos routinely surpassing one million views. And if you want more of the Gen Z footballer on the video-sharing app, you can follow his second account @jaxisstillboring. It’s technically his dump account, but that just means it’s double the fun.
Photos taken from Jared Peña’s Instagram
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