MANILA – The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has expressed optimism on starting the 2020 Philippines Football League (PFL) now that general community quarantine awaits the National Capital Region.
PFF President Mariano “Nonong” Araneta said in an Eat, Sleep, Breathe Football podcast that he is positive the PFL could start its new season by July.
According to Araneta, the PFL could take a cue from Korea, Germany, Spain, and Vietnam, which already resumed their football competitions despite the existing threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“Countries that have suffered worse than us like Spain and Germany have opened up their leagues, so I don’t see any reason why we cannot also open our league as long as we practice safety for the players,” Araneta said.
He added that the PFF has already submitted its guidelines and protocols for 2020 PFL’s safe start to the Games and Amusement Board (GAB), the government-ran regulatory body of professional sports in the country. GAB will then submit PFF’s proposal to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases for final approval.
According to Araneta, the PFL’s venue for training sessions and matches would be at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite only since venues such as the Rizal Memorial Stadium here and the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna are next door to active COVID-19 quarantine facilities.
“We are comparing notes with our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors. Hopefully, we can start the practice sessions by June 15. After one month of training, we can start July 15 (the season) if it’s favorable to us,” the Ilonggo football official from Barotac Nuevo said.
“These players will also not come to practice if they don’t feel they are safe. We (PFF) will shoulder all the testing of the players and the officials prior to the practices and the games,” he added./PN
