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By Rhick Lars Vladimer Albay
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ILOILO City – With the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) slated to kick off a new premier football league in the country this March 2017, Iloilo has been tagged a “priority city” to become a potential home base for one of the competing teams.
The upcoming Philippines Football League (PFL) aims to foster competition among various football teams from around the country and Atty. Edwin Gastanes, general secretary of the PFF, sees Iloilo as one of the suitable venues.
Iloilo is joined by Cebu City and Bacolod City as “priority cities” in the Visayas since sponsors and football fans have been seen to be “more enthusiastic” when it comes to football in these localities.
PFF shares that, in a recent survey, 89 percent of their respondents from Visayas and Mindanao liked the idea of putting up a national league.
In the study by the PFF, the potential localities which could serve as home turf to participating clubs were rated based on their existing infrastructures, accessibility, existence of sponsors, and fan appreciation of the sport.
The other targeted localities are: Manila, Makati, Quezon City, Marikina, Santa Maria (Bulacan), Bocaue (Bulacan), Laguna, and Pampanga in Luzon; and Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Zamboanga City in Mindanao.
The national league will be composed of at least six club teams, each representing a city or a region.
With the establishment of the PFL, the largely Manila-based United Football League will be stepping down as the country’s top-tier football competition.
Iloilo has been dubbed the “Football Mecca of the Philippines,” especially with the town of Barotac Nuevo hosting annual national tournaments and producing soccer legends Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta./PN
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