AFC pledges P10 million for RP football development

MANILA, Philippines - Asian Football Confederation president Mohammad Bin Hammam yesterday pledged a P10 million assistance for the development of local football even as he asked the warring groups within the Philippine Football Federation to unite.

“I’m pledging P5 million in 2009 and P5 million in 2010 to help you,” said Hamman said during the PFF congress at the Discovery Suites in Pasig City.

Hamman, however, asked the PFF to spare the association of politics and instead focus on making a big impact in spreading the word of football, the most popular sport in the world.

“Your leadership is beset with politics. Fix yourselves. Save your nation, save your youth but the youth has not been saved,” said Hammam.

Aside from the top AFC honcho, football officials from neighboring Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Timor Leste also attended the annual congress.

In the same congress, beleaguered PFF president Mari Martinez barely survived a move to oust him after chairman emeritus and former PFF president Johnny Romualdez threw his support to the current leadership.

“I’ve made a stand to follow the AFC president. I’m sorry for my friends. My decision is for football,” said Romualdez, who decided not to run in the previous PFF election won by Martinez.

“We are not talking about the development of Philippine football,” said Romualdez.

Martinez had been accused of gross mismanagement and charged for a P6 million alleged deficit by the PFF last year. He denied the charges.

Carsi Cruz, PFF legal counsel, said that the ouster of the president should follow Section 28 of the Corporation Code that states that any trustee may be removed from office by a vote of the stockholders holding at least two-thirds of the members entitled to vote provided that a special meeting called for the purpose.       – Joey Villar