Calls renewed for PHL football program to get more support

The Philippine national men's football team's successful run in the ongoing ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2010 drew calls from certain groups for the sport to get more support especially from the government. The team, more popularly known as the Azkals, has caught the attention of a basketball-crazy Philippines after it scored a stunning 2-0 win over defending champion Vietnam in an elimination match. But the football team continues to be burdened by lack of financial and technical support. Aside from that victory over Vietnam, the Philippines drew with powerhouse Singapore (1-1) and held dangerous Myanmar to a scoreless draw to earn five points en route to earning a semifinals meeting against Group A leader and title favorite Indonesia. On Thursday, the Azkals' defense managed to thwart the offensive onslaught by the high-scoring Indonesians in the first 31 minutes of the game. But a Christian Gonzales header in the 32nd minute led Indonesia to a 1-0 win over the Philippines in the opener of their semis match. And this is what the Philippine government wants to capitalize on as it hopes to stir up a "national discussion" on whether the Aquino administration should invest more in football, a Palace spokesperson said amid the outpouring of support for the Azkals. In an interview with reporters, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte praised the Azkals despite their losing effort against Indonesia. "I would like to congratulate our Philippine national football team, the Azkals, for putting up a valiant fight last night. Although we lost to Indonesia, we are confident that we can regain ground in Sunday's game and we encourage everybody to cheer for our fellow Filipinos," she said. Valte said the government hopes to get a clear picture on what it could do for the development of football in the Philippines "We saw that even with very minimal support, our athletes have managed to raise the bar, especially in a country where football is not much appreciated unlike in other Asian and European countries, and because of this incident we are hoping to start a national discussion on this, do we thrown in support for football, do we invest in it," she said. "We'd like to open that national discussion to get it going," she added. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri has also urged the executive branch to provide more support for the country's football program. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV