CEBU, Philippines - We missed a chance to make it to the finals of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup after Indonesia stopped Azkals in their two semifinal matches with identical scores of 1-0.
Although I feel disappointed that we didn’t make it, I am happy to note that more people now notice football and many more are jumping into the bandwagon including politicians, whose interests are of course obvious.
While I used to watch all by my lonesome on our small TV set at the office, the others her have also started to gather when the two semifinal games were played.
The crowd was not as big as the one that watched the NBA finals last June, but it was good enough knowing how football seems to have failed to become very popular in our basketball-crazy country.
We can’t blame the big sponsors for going to basketball instead of our beloved football. The sport remains to be the most popular in our country and the politicos love building basketball courts since they can put their names all over the place for everyone to see and remember during the elections.
Yes, there were problems with the officiating, but that is always a given. Maybe the referee seemed biased for the Indonesians, but that can happen anywhere even in the club games played here.
What I hope to see is for our countrymen to continue to get interested in football, because with more followers, it will also mean more sponsors would come in.
I once felt bad how come basketball gets all the attention, but I realized that the main reason is that the sponsors don’t come in just to spend money on some charity project supporting football. There have to be returns from what they put in.
If we go to the football tournaments and keep on making a lot of noise on Facebook like what the Azkal fans are now doing, this can help attract more support for the game.
Of course, we also need the events and an honest-to-goodness development program that can only be implemented if the leadership of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) will be under the reins of individuals with a genuine interest to propagate the sport and not their personal interests.
The Azkals brought us together as a Filipino people and that is a feat that was never achieved by any football team in the past from my memory.
It wasn’t like Manny Pacquiao fighting for a boxing crown of an obscure organization that would literally glue us all to the TV sets, but it was a good sign that football is now noticed in this country.
* * *
My brothers from the Cebu Amateur Football Club (CAFC) will gather this afternoon (until late evening) for the annual Christmas party at the field owned by Ricky Dakay in Sudlon, Lahug.
The members are reminded to wear any CAFC uniform and to bring P400, which covers the annual fee and the fee for the party. Don’t also forget to bring two pieces of 2x2 ID pictures.
See you tonight!
* * *
MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings to my brother Nino Paolo Quiñones, who celebrated last Monday. The same goes to Lilian Jordan-Frasco, wife of my uncle Gerardo ‘Dodong Gamay’ Frasco of the Titay’s fame, and to Oled Emmanuel Tadlip.
Belated greetings also go to Carlo Fortuna, Eric Casas, and Mimi Alazas, who celebrated yesterday.
More power to all of you! (FREEMAN)