Perhaps the first truly national professional league since the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association, the Philippines Football League was formally introduced in a Final Briefing and Press Conference held Tuesday afternoon at the Marco Polo Ortigas Ballroom B.
No less than Philippine Football Federation president Mariano ‘Nonong’ Araneta Jr. led the panel for the press conference, joined by PFF secretary-general Atty. Edwin Gastanes and Mr. Lorenzo Roxas, head of task force for the National League.
Atty. Gastanes announced what served as the focal point of the afternoon’s event, the release of the PFF Club Licensing Regulations.
“[The Regulations] enumerate the criteria [for which a] club will be licensed in the planned national league,” it stated.
Gastanes added such guidelines are required by both the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regulations for the clubs playing in the top league of the national federation.
The secretary-general also shared that this is one step in ensuring that the PFL will be fully professional league with professional players.
“About half of the countries in AFC do not yet have Club Licensing Regulations, even though they have top leagues. [However], since last year, AFC has been straightforward in requiring these to craft and process these Regulations,” he said.
Mr. Araneta added that FIFA, AFC, and PFF commissioned a Nielsen market study for the national league.
“The representatives of the UFL clubs were briefed on [the study]. Cities were identified, which can support a professional team in football and, hopefully, with clubs that are interested, they could relocate in that city in which there is crowd support for the club,” he shared.
The cities or areas are Manila, Makati, Quezon City, Marikina, Sta. Maria and Bocaue (Bulacan), Pampanga, Laguna, in Luzon. In the Visayas are Cebu City, Bacolod, and Iloilo. On the other hand, there are also Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Zamboanga City, for Mindanao.
The national federation honcho also said that the interested clubs were also informed of the PFF’s plan of forming a corporation with the latter to support the League. In this corporation, “all items that are not in Club Licensing Regulations will be discussed by the clubs and the PFF.”
Araneta added in a separate interview that this corporation will also take into consideration the commercial companies that are willing to sponsor the League and clubs in their chosen capacity.
“The PFF will take note off all the inputs of the clubs so that the League will be sustainable,” he added.
Interested clubs will have until the end of the year to comply with the Regulations and apply for inclusion in the PFL. Gastanes shared that the PFF plans to kick off the national league mid-March of next year.
On his part, Mr. Roxas, also an owner of United Football League’s Loyola Meralco Sparks FC, admitted that they still have to review the Regulations.
However, he commented that the biggest hurdle clubs may face is the cost of expenditures.
“Off hand, what costs clubs today to operate, what it will cost clubs in the future to operate under a national league format, knowing that we’re going have provincial game, obviously the cost component of that is important,” he shared. “But until we know the full extent of the requirements is, it is very difficult to comment.”
Roxas, nevertheless, is optimistic of the revenues the sponsorships will bring.
The Task Force head also shared that Football Alliance, the entity holding the UFL is willing to help the PFF in whichever way it chooses.
“For majority of the clubs in the UFL, obviously, they were conceptualized to play in the country’s premier league. So I would like to think that majority would like to play in the National League,” he said.
Roxas added the UFL is amenable to playing as second division format or in youth, as what might the PFF decide on.
Initially there are six clubs that signified their intention to join the League is subject to compliance to the regulations, which is enough for a professional league, as both the AFC and FIFA sanction and require.
Photo by: Icko de Guzman/football.com.ph
