MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo will make some roster changes ahead of their stints in 2021 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League qualifier and 2021 season of the Philippines Football League (PFL).
Kaya-Iloilo general manager Paul Tolentino said they are looking for some additions despite having an intact core of team that finished runner up in the 2020 PFL season.
“There will be a couple [of] changes. We still have a decent core of players that will stick around. In the next few weeks, maybe months, we’ll be able to share little by little who these new players are,” Tolentino said.
The Iloilo City-based football club will face Australia’s Brisbane Roar in the preliminary round of the AFC Champions League on April 7. The winner will face Beijing Football Club in playoffs for a spot in the group stage on April 14.
Should the club pull off two consecutive upsets against the Aussie and Chinese side, they will compete in Group F of the AFC Champions League group stage against Thailand’s BG Pathum United FC, South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai, and Vietnam’s Viettel.
If Kaya-Iloilo drops either of the two matches, they will be relegated to the second tier 2021 AFC Cup for the second straight year and will battle either Shan United FC or Ayeyawady United FC from Myanmar, Terengganu FC from Malaysia, and Geylang International FC from Singapore.
“It has always been my goal and the target since I took the Kaya job, to qualify for the AFC Champions League. I’m really excited for the guys. I want them to get a taste of that level of competition and I feel confident that our guys will compete to the best of their ability and give Brisbane Roar a real challenge,” he added.
The team also eyes to regain the Copa Paulino Alcantara to start the 2021 PFL Season after a loss to Ceres-Negros FC (now United City Football Club) in the 2019 season./PN
