PFF to pick Rizal Memorial Stadium as venue for Azkals home match

Cedelf P. Tupas

The Philippine Football Federation is set to announce the selection of Rizal Memorial Stadium as venue for the Azkals-Sri Lanka 2014 Fifa World Cup first round qualifying match in July.

PFF president Mariano Araneta will make the announcement Thursday after he meets with the Philippine Sporrs Commission board.

Araneta said the earlier concern over the structural integrity of the 80-year-old venue proved unfounded after the PSC presented documents of a previous safety check on the Rizal Stadium.

"If the PSC approves the proposal of San Miguel then the Azkals will play at Rizal Memorial on July 3," Araneta told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

"The safety issue is out of the way," he added.

Araneta said the PSC only needs to approve the proposal of San Miguel Corporation to install seats on the grandstand and fix the electronic scoreboard.

The Panaad Stadium in Bacolod was also considered as a probable venue for the match against Sri Lanka, but Araneta said the PFF also wanted to hold the match in Manila, which has not hosted an international match for quite some time.

The last significant football tournament held at Rizal Memorial was the 1991 SEA Games where the Philippine Team reached the semifinals.


inquirer.net