MANILA – The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) plans to start the 2020 Philippines Football League (PFL) season by next month, PFF president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta said.
Araneta told Radyo Pilipinas 2 they are targeting to open the new season by Aug. 15, pointing out that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) recently allowed the start of football practices.
He added that PFL clubs are to comply with the protocols set regarding club training where only 10 people, preferably a combination of eight players and two trainers, are allowed.
After the training of the first batch of players, there will be a 30-minute break before another set of 10 people can enter the field.
Close contact drills like tackling and set pieces are not yet allowed.
PFF have also conducted reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on the players and only those who tested negative for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be allowed to join the training.
“Ang [focus] namin ngayon is ‘yung testing muna, hindi ‘yung rapid test kundi ‘yung RT-PCR swab talaga para accurate kami. They say it is the gold standard for COVID-19 testing,” Araneta said.
There are six teams which are set to compete in the PFL in defending champions Ceres-Negros FC, which could have a new ownership before the season start, Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo, Global-Makati FC, Stallion Laguna FC, Mendiola 1991 FC and Azkals Developmental Team./PN
