ME nations extend yearly aid to PFF

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine football got a big shot in the arm after three Middle East countries pledged a total of $500,000 in assistance over the next five years to the Philippine Football Federation program in the aftermath of the Azkals’ creditable showing in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup and the emergence of the new PFF leadership.

PFF president Mariano Araneta said the football leaders of Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, during the recent AFC Congress in Qatar, promised to pool together $100,000 a year to help the PFF sustain its national competitions and other developmental programs.

“This is a good development for Philippine football,” Mariano said during a media briefing yesterday. “This offer will benefit not only the men’s team (Azkals) but also our Under-19 and Under-23 teams.”

The Arabs’ aid will ensure continuous staging of the PFF’s national tournaments, which were supposed to be a steady breeding ground of athletes for Phl teams but have been missing for the last three years.

“It’s clear that what we lacked before was a very competitive national competition, which should be a good venue for us to scout players. With this, we’ll now be able to scout players from different age-groups that eventually will go into the men’s team,” said PFF national teams committee chairman Dan Palami.

“This will also help us develop stronger local-based players and lift their level so eventually, we’ll not just rely on Fil-foreign players,” Palami added.

The PFF will hold national meets for the U-23 and U-19 age groups this year, in line with preparations for international meets in July. By 2012, the PFF will stage a men’s open tourney and an U-16 competition.

On top of the funding, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan also offered to host the Phl teams’ training on their turfs.

“If we want our national teams to train there, they’re willing to defray some of our expenses, like taking care of the plane fare and board and lodging, and other necessary things that will make our teams competitive,” Araneta said.

Aside from the Middle East help, the PFF has also secured $20,000 financial assistance from the Japan Football Association, also for its grassroots program.

This is separate from the $250,000 annual grant from the International Football Federation (FIFA). The Azkals themselves will also receive $150,000 as their share in gate receipts of the last Suzuki Cup semis.

Araneta, whose election in place of ousted chief Jose Mari Gonzales was recently recognized by the international bodies, vowed transparency in dispensing all these fundings.

“We’ll want to be transparent about the whole thing and the board will be involved in everything. In fact, we’ll be holding board meetings every quarter so they will be apprised of developments regularly and board members will also sit as chairman of the different committees,” he said.