The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has accepted the invitation of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) for an International Friendly ‘A’ Match between the National Men’s teams of the Philippines and Azerbaijan.
The match will be held on 05 March 2014 (a FIFA friendly date) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Officials of PFF and AFFA are now working on match details including venue, kick-off time, television coverage and other necessary arrangements. PFF hopes the required permits from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and of course the hosting sanction of UAE Football Association (UAEFA) would be secured soonest.
It will be the first time after many years that the Philippine team will play against a European squad. The Philippines lost 1-0 to Estonia in a friendly in Manila in 1997.
“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 Mariano Araneta.
The Azerbaijan Men’s Football team is ranked higher at 94th place than the Philippine Azkals, which is at 127th in FIFA rankings.
(PFF Press Statement cleared for release by PFF General Secretary Ed Gastanes)
PFF website
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