Azkals face world rated Azerbaijan in friendly

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Azkals get the rare opportunity to play a Top 100 team from Europe as they tackle Azerbaijan in an international friendly “A” match in Dubai on March 5 during their scheduled training camp there.

The friendly was confirmed by the Philippine Football Federation, which welcomed the chance for the 127th-ranked Azkals to gauge their level of play and learn from a tough European side like 94th-ranked Azerbaijan.

“We cannot let pass the invitation of Azerbaijan to a friendly match. It will be a good exposure for our national team, and would help our preparations for the AFC Challenge Cup Maldives finals in May 2014,” said PFF president Nonong Araneta.

Nicknamed Milli, Azerbaijan will be the first European squad Pinoy booters will play since 1997, when Phl XI hosted Estonia and lost in a friendly in Manila, 0-1.

The Azerbaijanis failed to make it to the 2014 Fifa World Cup after placing fourth in Group F of the UEFA qualifiers, compiling nine points on a 1-6-3 win-draw-loss card. Ruslan Abishov, who scored two goals in the World Cup qualification group stages, is expected to lead the Milli against the Azkals.

Phl XI is expected to bring in its top guns from overseas, taking advantage of the Fifa friendly date on match day.

Prior to Azerbaijan, the Pinoy booters will be flying to Malaysia for a friendly on March 1 as they kick off their Challenge Cup build-up under their new coach. Former US captain and World Cup veteran Thomas Dooley is in final negotiations with the PFF and Azkals management for terms of contract.

Meanwhile, the PFF has been bestowed with the AFC Grassroots Recognition Award for its efforts in developing future players through its “Kasibulan” grassroots program.

The AFC cited the PFF for “actively organizing football festivals, courses and promotional activities among its member organizations” and gave the PFF $50,000 as additional support to further sustain its grassroots development initiatives.

“We are very grateful to AFC for this award. The grassroots program is the centerpiece of our football agenda. Through this, we hope to be able to develop numerous talents that can represent our country in the future. The additional support that AFC is providing us will go a long way in our grassroots development efforts,” said Araneta.

A nationwide program held in cooperation with the Department of Education, the “Kasibulan” has conducted over 150 grassroots courses and festivals with 55,000 students introduced to football and given basic training, and 8,600 teacher-instructors trained so since its implementation in 2012.