P-Noy to attend Azkals match versus Mongolia

MANILA, Philippines - Barring any last-minute changes in his schedule, President Aquino will be at the Panaad Stadium on Feb. 9 to watch the Azkals in action.

“This is the shot in the arm that we need,” said Philippine Olympic Committee chairman Monico Puentevella yesterday.

The former congressman from Bacolod and member of the International Football Federation or FIFA has confirmed the President’s presence in the Azkals’ AFC Challenge Cup match against Mongolia.

Puentevella said Senators Bong Revilla, Miguel Zubiri and Teofisto Guingona III have also showed their intention to come for what should be the biggest football match ever to be played in the country.

The POC chairman also called on the other members of Congress and other government officials to come to Bacolod City.

“All the hotel rooms in Bacolod are already booked. Loyal football fanatics from as far as Australia are even coming,” said Puentevella.

The Panaad Stadium, venue of the football matches for the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, can seat 15,000 fans, and the Philippine Football Federation has decided to block off 4,000 seats for the VIPs.

Another 4,000 grandstand seats will be sold for P300 each while those in the general admission will be free, on a first-to-come, first-to-be-served basis.

The proceeds of the ticket sales will help fund the Azkals’ second match against the Mongolians on March 15 in Mongolia.

The Azkals, now under a new coach in German Hans Michael Weiss, will be led by brothers Phil and James Younghusband, Aly Borromeo, Rob Geir, Anton del Rosario and goalie Neil Etheridge. They are coming off a successful stint in the AFF Suzuki Cup where it figured in the semifinals against Indonesia.

The Azkals played the Indons at the Bing Karno Stadium twice last December, before more than 70,000 fans on each night, including Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Yudhoyono, an avid football fan, came to watch both matches with his wife and 400 other VIPs. He bought the 400 VIP tickets at $55 each for a total of $22,000 or roughly P946,000.