Fingers crossed for bigger, better domestic league

 By Erel Cabatbat

If reports and claims are indeed true, the upcoming season of the Philippines Football League (PFL) will be very interesting, to say the least. As of late, several teams are very active in announcing their signings for the upcoming PFL season. This is good to generate more interest and awareness in the domestic league, which is set to start in the first week of March.

One team, is in fact, consistent with its announcements and updates, which the other clubs should follow suit to make more interest and noise. This early, this club, a newcomer in the league, deserves an A for effort.

While the list of the teams that will be participating has not been officially disclosed yet, PFL Commissioner Coco Torre said at least 15 teams have confirmed their intent in joining the tournament. These teams are either working on their documents and other requirements (to include the registration fee), which is probably the reason why the Philippine Football Federation can’t yet disclose their identities. The 16th team is facing a disciplinary case and must settle this first before being allowed to enter the tournament.

Fifteen will always be a better figure than five, the number of teams that competed last year. At the very least, the tournament will be bigger and hopefully the quality of teams competing is higher, too. I pray too that the teams joining the PFL will be there for the long run and that they remain sustainable.

The status of the domestic league is always a good way to gauge the status of football in the country. To clarify, this is just one of the ways to ascertain how football is in the country. Para malinaw lang sa mga trolls at mga experts kuno.

Expected to compete are the old and reliable teams such as Kaya FC Iloilo, Dynamic Herb Cebu, Stallion Laguna FC and Mendiola 1991, while reports say that Davao Aguilas, Maharlika Manila FC, Manila Montet FC, Manila Digger FC, Tuloy FC, Don Bosco Garelli FC, United City FC, Loyola FC and Taguig City United FC are also in the mix.

Which brings us to the next question? Who are the players suiting up for these teams? Our football friends, who also act as de-facto scouts in identifying possible Azkals’ prospects based abroad, have a long list of players that could play in the new PFL season. The list contains prominent names such as Omid Nazari, Kevin Ingreso, Andreas Esswein, Adam Reed, Amin Nazari, Luke Woodland, Kieran Hayes, Matthew Custodio, Zach Wadell, Enrique Bernan and many more. Some of the names in the list can also play for the Azkals.

Speaking of the Azkals, there are reports, too, that a change of the moniker is forthcoming. The PFF announcement naming Freddy Gonzalez as its Director of National Teams also boosted this probability when there was no mention of Azkals when it referred to the Philippine Men’s National Team.

A former national team player, Gonzalez replaced Dan Palami as team manager of the national team and is tasked to lead the squad’s preparation for a pair of qualifiers in March, a home and away fixtures against Iraq.

The decision to change the moniker is always the choice and decision of the PFF, no contest there. And whatever they decide to use, I wish them all the luck. I’m more interested in the preparations for the crucial games against Iraq. And I also hope that the management and the players will not be distracted from the moniker change with less than two months before the games against Iraq.

Regardless of the moniker, one thing remains and ever constant, the name of our country should matter the most.

https://manilastandard.net/sports/314408348/fingers-crossed-for-bigger-better-domestic-league.html