MANILA – Due to the recent increase in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 in the country, the Copa Paulino Alcantara tournament slated to begin this April was canceled.
“The (Copa Paulino Alcantara) will not push through this year because of the current situation in the country, particularly in the National Capital Region and surrounding areas,” said Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta Jr.
According to Araneta, it was a tough decision to cancel the Copa but PFFI puts on top the safety of players. This is the second time the tournament was canceled.
However, Araneta said the Philippines Football League (PFL) will go on this season. The tentative date for the season’s opening is July 17.
“We opted to schedule the League tournament by July in consideration to the international football tournaments the Philippine Azkals, PFL teams United City Football Club, and Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo will participate in,” Araneta said.
The national men’s football team will participate in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in China in June 2021. Kaya-Iloilo and United City will compete in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League play-off and group stage tournaments, respectively.
“We understand the situation the clubs are facing during these challenging times,” he said. “With a scheduled kickoff date of 17 July, the clubs will be able to plan accordingly for another exciting PFL season.”
PFL Commissioner Coco Torre, for his part, said there is a plan to play more matches if ever the League resumes this year with the football clubs increasing to eight from a previous number of six.
“Last year, clubs were only able to play five matches in the bubble season,” said Torre. “We look forward to giving the clubs more competitive matches to keep the players physically fit, which will benefit our clubs participating at the domestic level, international competitions, and our national team.”
With just six teams in the 2020 season, each competing team played five games with United City FC being declared as champion followed by Kaya-Iloilo./PN
