MANILA – Philippine Azkals will sure enjoy the support of football-loving Bacolodnons.
The Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City was chosen to host Azkals’ home games in the AFF Suzuki Cup this year.
“Azkals will play their AFF Suzuki Cup home games at Panaad Park [and] Stadium, Bacolod City,” Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta said in a statement.
Under new head coach Terry Butcher, Azkals will start its Suzuki Cup campaign in November, competing in a five-team round-robin group with a new home-and-away format.
The Philippines will play Singapore on Nov. 13 before playing either Brunei or Timor Leste away four days later.
Azkals will return to Panaad on Nov. 21 and battle Thailand before playing on the road anew against Indonesia on Nov. 25.
“RMS (Rizal Memorial Stadium) will not be available that time because it will be renovated for the upcoming 2019 SEA (Southeast Asian) Games,” Araneta said.
If Azkals succeeds in the group stage, it will head to the semifinal round from Dec. 1 to 6. The two-legged championship series will be on Dec. 11 and 15.
In the 2016 edition of the Suzuki Cup, the Azkals – then under head coach Thomas Dooley – failed to make it past the group stage after losing to Thailand 0-1./PN
The matches should be played in a part of the country that appreciates and supports football. So, Bacolod is perfect. Manila is a big, black hole for football.
Where can we buy tickets?