By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
LOCAL FOOTBALL scored some and got hit in the about-to-end year but all should lead to an exciting 2019, this, according to Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta.
Gracing the “The Football Connection” program on Radyo Pilipinas last week, Mr. Araneta shared that 2018 bore “positive things and not so good ones.” The PFF president nonetheless said that 2019 should be an exciting year with much to look forward to.
“There were some positive changes and not so good things that happened. Positive is our men’s team qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time and our women’s team qualified for the second round of the Olympic qualifier. There were also positive results in the age groups in women’s. Overall I would say football in the country is improving,” said Mr. Araneta.
He went on to say that futsal is also advancing especially at the grassroots level with various tournaments staged in the country.
Mr. Araneta also hailed the opening of the PFF facility in Carmona, Cavite, which is now being used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association among other leagues. The PFF president added that they are hoping to start construction of the new headquarters of the federation in the facility and doing some improvement as well from the funds they are set to receive from international football bodies like FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
Channeling his attention to the Philippine men’s national football team which recently competed at the AFF Suzuki Cup and wound up in the semifinals after losing to eventual champion Vietnam, Mr. Araneta said the Azkals still had a good showing even as he said they will continue to try to improve all in the hopes of finally winning the tournament.
“Unfortunately we lost to the champion team in the semifinals [of the Suzuki Cup]. That was still good enough for us considering some of our players were called back to play in Europe which we understand because they have to earn a living,” he said.
“Maybe in the future we will need more of our local players which I think the coaching staff is already preparing for. We are hopeful our national team will improve,” he added.
Next stop for the Azkals is the AFC Asian Cup in January which Mr. Araneta said the team is really preparing for, including playing a friendly with Suzuki Cup champion Vietnam in Doha, Qatar, on Dec. 31.
In the Asian Cup the Philippines is bracketed in Group C along with South Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan. It begins its campaign on Jan. 7.
Mr. Araneta also spoke of the Philippines Football League which has now been rebranded as the Philippine Premier League.
He said they are bullish that the local league will pick up anew notwithstanding a number of teams having pulled out, the most recent of which was Davao Aguilas FC.
“The PFL is now known as Philippine Premier League with a new group tasked to manage and market the league. The group of (PPL commissioner] Bernie Sumayao has been involved in the Thai league and is now coming here to help the local league. We have now five teams but we are hoping to increase it to seven to eight teams,” Mr. Araneta said.
As to what happened to the PFL in just two years of running, Mr. Araneta said it was a combination of things, including expenses becoming a tough issue to overcome.
“Expenses for the clubs became an issue because we wanted to make it nationwide. But this time I think most of the games will be held here in Metro Manila unless we get sponsorship to help the clubs stage matches outside of it. The clubs already know that,” the PFF president said.
Mr. Araneta then asked for continued patience from the stakeholders, especially the fans, saying they are doing their best to really develop the sport in the country through the league.
“Be patient. We are trying to put up a professional league. And it’s no joke. We are not there for our own selfish interest and we want to help grow and develop Philippine football,” he said.

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