KANE SIGNS WITH CERES-NEGROS

Ceres-Negros FC has signed Azkals and former JPV Marikina player Sean Kane for the forthcoming football season.

The 26-year year old was born in the Philippines but learned his football in Sweden. He later moved on to the Unites States where he played college football in California.

He then moved to the country to play for Kaya FC in the 2016 UFL season. The versatile player signed with JPV in 2017 where his standout play in the PFL earned him a call-up with the national team.

Kane adds another dimension to the Ceres defense which will be battling in different fronts in 2018.

“I’m very pleased to have signed with Ceres,” said the Azkals defender. “It’s a great club and a great environment for me to continue to grow as a player.”

Kane is also looking forward to play in Panaad in front of the adoring Ceres-Negros fans. “There’s no question Ceres has the best fans in the Philippines, I can’t wait to be part of it!”

http://ceresfootball.com/kane-signs-with-ceres-negros/

Bahadoran turns down Kelantan

KOTA BAHRU (29 Dec 2017) – Philippines captain Misagh Bahadoran has turned down the chance to play for Kelantan where he has instead likely to play for Perak instead.

Following news where he is expected to sign for Kelantan, the 30-year-old winger has decided at the very last minute to don colours for the silver state instead.

Not only that, Kelantan also lost the chance to sign Croatian striker Marko Simicm with the latter decided to sign for Indonesia League 1 side Persija Jakarta.

“Yes, we have prepared the flight tickets for both Bahadoran and also Simic to come to Kota Bahru to sign the contract. But they decided at the very last minute to play for another club instead,” said Bibi Ramjani Ilias Khan, the President of the FA of Kelantan (KAFA).

“It does not matter that they have decided to play elsewhere, but they should have informed us earlier instead of at the very last minute. Now, we will just have to look elsewhere.”

http://www.aseanfootball.org/v2/2017/12/bahadoran-signs-kelantan/

CERES-NEGROS FC RETAINS CHAMPIONSHIP CORE IN 2018 CAMPAIGN

Ceres-Negros FC announces the retention of its championship core for the 2018 season which will see the club feature in the AFC and domestic competitions.

Continuing with the club are former captains in Patrick Reichelt, Louie Michael Casas, Manny Ott, Arnie Pasinabo, Carlie De Murga, and Martin Steuble.

Veteran players in Bienvenido Marañon, Stephan Schrock, Omid Nazari, Junior Muñoz, Kevin Ingreso, OJ Porteria, Jeffrey Christaens, Ed Sacapaño, and Super Herrera will also be back for the upcoming season.

Young guns in Joshua Dutosme and Nessi Ramos will also be present for the title defense.

The 2017 squad has shown resilience and professionalism which has led to multiple titles last season which made the retention the core the primary objective of the club.

Ceres-Negros also thanks its departing players for their valuable performance the past year. Iain Ramsay, Roland Müller, Josh Grommen, Luke Woodland, Kota Kawase, and Fernando Rodriguez have been instrumental in the 2017 campaign and the club wishes them well in their future endeavors.

http://ceresfootball.com/ceres-negros-fc-retains-championship-core-in-2018-campaign/

Stallion Laguna to hold tryouts in January

BY JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA

Stallion Laguna FC is set to hold tryouts as part of its preparation for the next Philippines Football League (PFL) season.

Trials will be held at the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna on January 6 from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

“I’m looking for local and foreign players with the right attitude, fitness and smarts to play professional football,” said Stallion Laguna head coach Ernest Nierras.

Players are required to bring their résumés as well as their own boots and uniforms.

Booters who are planning to transfer to the Biñan-based squad are required to bring release documents from their former club.

Interested foreign footballers have to show proof of legal stay in the country and a valid visa.

Players who have received offers from other teams need not attend the tryouts as well as football agents.

Stallion Laguna’s senior booters will facilitate the selection of new players. Five to eight local footballers and two to three foreign booters will be picked.

The club will announce its final roster, including the players selected from the tryouts, on January 20.

The Stallions posted 35 points on a 9-8-11 win-draw-loss record for a fifth place finish in the inaugural season of the PFL.

http://www.manilatimes.net/stallion-laguna-hold-tryouts-january/371420/

Ceres-Negros head coach suspended for 6 months

Ceres to boost lineup with new recruits

With goalkeeper Roland Muller going on leave and ace midfielder Iain Ramsay suiting up for another club next season, Ceres-Negros FC hopes to fortify its lineup with new recruits in time for the AFC Champions League next month.

In a radio interview, Club administrator Nicolas Golez said they will present to the public the new addition to the team once the deal is finalized.

Head Coach RistoVidakovic, he said, is tasked to look for a new goalkeeper and a couple of left wingers.

Vidakovic is expected to rejoin the team in the Champions League preliminaries despite the 6-month suspension from the Philippines Football League.

Golez said they are still waiting for PFL’s reply on their appeal over Vidakovic’s case. The second season of the PLF is scheduled to start in March 2018 with Ceres-Negros as the defending champions.

Ceres-Negros FC barged into the international football season this year with a remarkable performance in the AFC Cup, where they finished with the ASEAN Zone trophy.

The Bacolod City-based squad also received the AFC Fair Play Award for the 2017 AFC Cup, a first for a Filipino club in Asian competition.

The AFC Fair Play Award is given to the participating club that has collected the most Fair Play points in the competition.

Points are awarded for positive play, conduct on and off the field and the behavior of supporters at the stadium and deducted for the number of red and yellow cards received in a match.

The Fair Play Award is a first for a Filipino club in Asian competition.
The award adds another feather to the cap of the Negros squad who had a successful year being crowned as the tournament’s ASEAN Zone champion and as the inaugural champion of the Philippines Football League.*NAB

Ceres-Negros FC will play in the preliminaries of the AFC Champions League against Myanmar on Jan. 16.*

source : Visayan Daily Star

PH XI sets up training camp in California

BY JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA ON DECEMBER 27, 2017

The Philippine women’s national football team is set to begin its three-month training camp in Corona, California, USA for the all-important Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup 2018.

Preparations will start on Wednesday with newly appointed head coach Richard Boon and assistant coach Clint McDaniel overseeing the program.

Local mainstays Patrice Impelido, Inna Palacios, Camille Rodriguez and Sara Castañeda flew to California on Tuesday to join the camp, comprising the first batch of female booters from Manila called up by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

Next to leave for the US are homegrown talents Alesa Dai Dolino, Mea Bernal, Kyla Jan Inquig and Anicka Castañeda.

Over 40 players are expected to participate in the three-month camp that mixes up locals with overseas-based booters selected through a talent scouting held last November at the El Cerrito Sports Complex Corona.

Among the notable overseas-based players are Eva Madarang, Hali Long, Hanna Parado and Claire Lim, who suited up for the country’s successful campaign in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying stage and Southeast Asian Games earlier this year.

A win and a draw for the Malditas will give them one of the five berths to the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Women’s World Cup 2019.

The Philippines will open its campaign against host Jordan on April 6 at the Amman International Stadium. Next on the schedule is China, the highest-ranked squad in Group A, on April 9 and finally against Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand on April 12, both at the King Abdullah 2nd Stadium.

The intensive preparation is arranged by the Project Jordan Task Force led by PFF president Mariano Araneta and backed by PLDT, the MVP Sports Foundation, Giligan’s, Winner Circle Athletics and Pythos Technology.

http://www.manilatimes.net/ph-xi-sets-training-camp-california/370911/

Kelantan sign Bahadoran

By Hasbullah Ibrahim - December 25, 2017 @ 10:43am

KOTA BARU: Kelantan have completed their foreign quota for the 2018 M-League season by signing Croatian striker Marko Simic and Filipino winger Misagh Bahadoran.

The duo have agreed to terms to sign for one year.

Simic is best remembered for his exploits with Melaka where he saved them from relegation with his goals in the second half of last season.

Kelantan's other foreign signings are South Korean Do Dong Hyun, Brazilian Cassio Francisco De Jesus and Frenchman Margaro Gomis.

Kelantan FA (Kafa) president Bibi Ramjani Ilias Khan said Simic and Bahadoran will both arrive on Thursday to sign their contracts.

"Simic's inclusion is a boost and we are glad that he has agreed to join the club," said Bibi.

"Bahadoran is a former Philippines international and the decision to sign him was agreed upon by our selection panel.

"He meets our criteria, and we believe he will forge a good understand with Simic in attack."

Kelantan coach Sathit Benshoh will test his import signings for the first time in a friendly against Terengganu (TFC II) at the Sultan Muhd IV Stadium on Wednesday.

The friendly is a build up for the Super Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Jan 15-24.

Indonesia's Persija Jakarta and Thailand's Ratchaburi FC complete the cast in the competition

https://www.nst.com.my/sports/football/2017/12/318194/kelantan-sign-simic-and-bahadoran

Cebu Football Welcomes Global Cebu FC New Owner

CFA. The new Global Cebu FC owner Alvin Carranza will need the support of the Cebu Football Association (CFA) which will be known as Central Visayas Regional Football Association (CVRFA) to be successful in the Philippine Football League. CFA president Ricky Dakay (second from right) here with CFA official Glen Quisido and Aboitiz Group of Companies officials during the launching of the Aboitiz Fooball Cup recently. (Contributed photo) 

GLOBAL Cebu FC has a new owner Alvin Carranza, the founder and owner of MacGraphics Carranz International Corp. He has been a long time supporter of grassroots football being the Managing Director of the Teen Azkals Foundation Inc.
This time, Carranza is bringing his love for the beautiful game to a higher level which is professional football.
He said that they are still in the process of revamping the club and they will start brain storming after Christmas. He has tasked former Davao Aguilas manager Chito Manuel to organize the club.
Manuel was also tasked by Davao Aguilas owner Jeff Cheng to organize the club when they started early this year.
Carranza is also looking for a foreign coach and wants a European coach to lead the club to a better finish next season.
Global-Cebu FC finished runner-up to Ceres Negros in the recently concluded Philippine Football League (PFL).
The Cebu football community is welcoming the new owner of the Global FC Cebu but according to long time Cebu Football Association (CFA) long time board member Nimrod Quiñones, the new owner should sit down and talk with the CFA so that they could work together in making the Cebu team successful.
Dan Palami, the former Global Cebu team owner was very close to the CFA officials particularly with president Ricky Dakay of the Dakay Construction, one of the biggest construction firm in the Visayas.
“We are not part of Global FC but we gave them all out support in the ways we could for the love of the game and for Cebu,’’ Quiñones said.
Quiñones served as security officer in every matches that Global Cebu FC hosted at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Sun*Star Cebu sports editor Mike Limoag, an avid football writer and supporter, has also welcomed the change of management. However, he said that it has unnerved some fans because of lack of updates. He is also hoping that the new management will be aggressive in getting new homegrown talent to play for the first team.
Global Cebu had one homegrown player in its line-up, former University of San Carlos striker John Roy Melgo, son of Borbon town vice mayor Roy Melgo.
Carranza’s taking over of the Global Cebu FC is a wise decision for him as the club has also strong community based supporters. I have talked with him many times before and he told me that we was planning to set up a club to play for PFL. Buying Global is much cheaper than setting up a club and starting from scratch.
Global-Cebu FC attracted more than 5,000 paying fans every home matches last season. That is a lot compared to most clubs who are struggling to attract paying fans to their matches.
He is also also hoping to get Cebu based companies to sponsor the club so that he could get good players and stay competitive for the next season.
The next thing that Carranza should do is hire a well known coach from Cebu to help his European head coach. A local coach who has a wide network and an excellent record.
Cebu football is very lucky to have Carranza. When will Cagayan de Oro have its own PFL team? (l.biantan@gmail.com)

http://pinoyfootball.com/2017/12/25/cebu-football-welcomes-global-cebu-fc-new-owner/