HBT Cup in Brunei from August 9

Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in Brunei
Will take place from August 9 to August 23 .

10 teams will be competing.

This is the unofficial U21 tournament for ASEAN countries.

Azkals U21 will be competing , draw tomorrow.

Phl faces tough outing in AFC U-16 women’s tiff

By Olmin Leyba

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines hopes to sustain the momentum from its recent success in the age group competitions as it braces for a tough group in the upcoming qualifying tournament for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 Women’s Championship.

Phl, fresh from a historic silver medal in last week’s AFC Girls U-14 championship for the Asean region, has drawn Chinese Taipei, Myanmar and Cambodia in Group D of the qualifiers to be held September-October in a yet to be decided venue.

The Taiwanese played in the final round of the AFC U-16 women’s tilt last year and just fell short of a stint in the Last-4. Myanmar, for its part, faced off with the Pinay booters in the 2013 previous qualifiers at Rizal Memorial and prevailed, 2-1.

The official draw was held recently at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur with Phl and 20 other nations set to vie for four berths to the 2015 finals. Defending champion Japan and the next three teams in the final standing of the 2013 edition, runner-up North Korea, third placer China and No. 4 Thailand, had been given outright qualification slots.

Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan make up Group A while Bangladesh, Iran, Jordan, India, UAE, and Qatar comprise Group B of the West Zone.

Australia, Korea Republic, Hong Kong, Northern Mariana Islands and Vietnam vie in Group C, the other bracket in the East Zone.

According to the AFC, each group will play a one-round league in a centralized venue with the winners from each group advancing to the eight-nation finals.

Meanwhile, idle Phl women’s team Malditas rose by one place to 78th in the quarterly world rankings released by the International Football Federation Friday night.

The Malditas, who haven’t seen action since the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, are ranked 16th overall in Asia and fifth among Asean nations behind Thailand (29th), Vietnam (33rd), Myanmar (46th) and Indonesia (70th).

philstar

Butuan - PFF Smart Club Local Eleminations

Azkals players looking for new clubs

Many foreign based Azkals players are looking for new clubs after they have been released by their former clubs :

Neil Etheridge (ex Fulham Fc ) : Injured goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is looking for a new club after been in Fulham's squad since 2006.

Paul Mulders (ex Cambuur Sc , Netherlands) : Was playing  just some few games for the Dutch club on a amateur contract . His contract expired after season finished.

Martin Steuble (ex Fc Wil , Switzerland) : Midfielder for Azkals. His contract was not renewed.

Juani Guirado (ex Burgos, Spain) : Burgos Fc website reported that they are not planning renewing his contract

Dennis Cagara (Lyngby, Denmark ) : His contract expired after season finished in June. Not known if  contract been renewed.

Collegiate teams vie for Ang Liga football title

By Nissi Icasiano

MANILA, Philippines - Sixteen football squads from different universities and colleges will slug it out for the Ang Liga trophy as the league’s 12th season opens shop on Saturday, June 21.
Founded by San Beda head coach Aris Caslib and College of Saint Benilde mentor Marlon Maro in 2003, Ang Liga is an annual inter-school soccer tournament which pits the best collegiate teams in the country before the commencement of the regular football season during the academic year’s second semester.
For this year, Ang Liga is introducing a new tourney format as the 16 teams will be divided into two groups of eight.
Each bracket plays a round-robin elimination, in which every 11-man troop is slated for seven matches against other squadrons in the same group.
The top two teams of each cluster will advance in the crossover semi-final round, where the winners will go head-to-head for the Ang Liga title.
Meanwhile, the third and fourth-ranked brigades in both groups will have the opportunity to vie for the plate championship in the similar crossover system.
Group A houses a number of strong competitors with the likes of the defending Ang Liga and four-peat National Collegiate Athletic Association champion (NCAA) San Beda Red Booters, Maro’s Saint Benilde Blazers, and the five-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) titlist University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
Two team representatives from National University, Malayan Colleges Laguna, Don Bosco Technical College and Emilio Aguinaldo University complete the cast in Group A.
Group B is composed of University of Santo Tomas’ Graduate School, Arellano University, University of the East, Ateneo De Manila University, Rizal Technological University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, De La Salle Lipa, and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta.
“We made sure to invite all the top football teams from different colleges and universities to put up the level of competition in the collegiate ranks. Fortunately, we will be fielding 16 of them. This is undeniably the most competitive Ang Liga to date,” Caslib tells Rappler.
Ang Liga will be running for nine weeks, with four 90-minute regulations being played every Saturday and Sunday.
With the Philippine Football Federation serving as its backbone, the competition holds more promise as the technical committee gained a lucrative sponsorship with Star Sports Korea and LGR Athletic Wears as well as securing four playing venues.
San Beda College and Ateneo De Manila University will be hosting most of the football contests, while Malayan Colleges Laguna will cater as the backup location.
The championship round and the battle for third place are scheduled to be held at the state-of-the-art Emperador Stadium in Taguig City, which is the home field of the United Football League.
“Definitely, we are taking it into another level this time. Our goal is to show everyone that the collegiate league is at par with the major leagues of the country. That’s why we want to tap as many teams as possible to put a high-standard of play in the field. With this kind of exposure and support we’re getting, it’s possible in the coming years,” Caslib stressed.
The opening festivity of the 12th Ang Liga football season takes place at the Ateneo high school soccer field on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. -

Rappler.com

UFL Thursday

FT- Phil.Army-GTI FC 0-3 Green Archers United Globe FC. Goal scorers: Robert Lopez Mendy 30' 45+1' David Angelo Diamante 82'

FT- Pachanga FC 3-1 Stallion FC. Goal scorers: Pachanga- Gerardo Valmayor-22' Raffy Cabug-35' Nate Burkey-90' Stallion- Fitch Arboleda-27'

1	•	Global FC	23	59
2	•	Kaya F.C	23	46
3	•	Loyola Meralco Sparks FC	23	46
4	•	Stallion Fc	23	38
5	•	Green Archers	23	36
6	•	Pachanga Diliman FC	23	29
7	•	Army FC GTI	23	17
8	•	Team Socceroo	24	16
9	•	Pasargad FC	23	6

YouTube : Team Socceroo Family Fun Day 2014

PFF to build Azkals training facility

By Olmin Leyba

MANILA, Philippines - A training center with an international-sized artificial turf and other facilities for the Philippine Azkals and other national football teams will rise in Carmona, Cavite next year.

According to the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) general secretary Edwin Gastanes, the facility will be constructed under the $500,000 Goal Project 3 of the International Football Federation (Fifa).

“We just signed a lease agreement for two hectares there and we’ll have our Goal Project 3 (with a) full-sized artificial turf in Carmona. Likewise, Fifa has already initiated international bidding on the construction of the said training pitch of the PFF,” Gastanes told The STAR.

To be called the “National Teams Training Center,” the said facility will allow the Azkals, Malditas and other age group squads unlimited access and control while they are holding camps. Under the current set up, Pinoy booters train in various private fields.

“Hopefully, before the end of the second half of next year, we’ll have an artificial turf in Carmona with dressing rooms for all our national team aspirants and pool,” said Gastanes.

The Carmona project follows a similar training pitch and facility the Fifa has constructed in Bukidnon under the Goal 4 Project.

The PFF and the Fifa had also initially considered building an artificial turf at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium but talks with the stadium’s administrator, the Philippine Sports Commission, fell apart over issues of control of the government-owned site. Eventually, the PSC decided to convert Rizal’s grass field into artificial turf on its own.

Gastanes said the new-look Rizal will remain as the “home venue” for the Azkals and other national teams. In fact, the PFF is looking at Rizal as the site for the third edition of the Philippine Peace Cup this September.

“Rizal Memorial is a brand-new artificial turf now and hopefully it will be certified as a Fifa two-star artificial turf,” he said.

philstar.com