PFF readies more tickets for Azkals' July 3 match

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is working out ways to make additional tickets available for the July 3 World Cup Asian qualifying home match of the Azkals, the men's national football team. Rick Olivares, the local organizing committee's media officer for the July 3 match said via Twitter, "There will be additional tickets. But we'll make the announcement on Monday when everything is final. Working on extra seating!" Olivares has also reminded local football fans, through his blog, that strict measures will be implemented to see to it that the Azkals' coming home match will be safety, secure and fun for all. "Security will be tight. There are some 2,000 security – private, police, and military – on hand for the match because of the possible attendance of the President of the Republic as well as for the protection of the Sri Lankan team," the media coordinator said. Olivares' advice to fans who will watch the game at the Rizal stadium is essentially to travel light, bring raincoats instead of umbrellas in case it rains, and to follow the house rules. On the list of banned items are cameras (professional, still, video, and DSLR), large back packs and waist packs, cigarettes, lighters, any weapons and sharp objects, glass bottles, plastic bottles, balloons, chairs, metal belt buckles, chains and bracelets. "Save yourselves the trouble of bringing those prohibited items I posted earlier such as backpacks, DSLRs etc. There will be no baggage counter to deposit stuff that isn't allowed inside. Having them left behind with security is not a good idea because they are not there to secure your stuff. The only cameras allowed inside are for the legit media," Olivares said. The near future Bonnie Ladrido, local organizing committee chairman, said recently through his blog that, "the Azkals should win over Sri Lanka," an assessment arrived at after comparing the league experience of the national team versus that of Sri Lanka's. "Half of the Azkals play in the United Football League while the other half play overseas. Of those who play overseas, most of them play in credible leagues," said Ladrido, who is also PFF treasurer. Ladrido compares the Azkals' level of play to the collective experience of Sri Lanka. "Most of the players of the Sri Lankan team play in their premier domestic league called the Dialog Champions League. A couple play in Maldives which has a slightly better domestic league than Sri Lanka and one player, defender Dennis Maharajan, plays in England for Edgware Town FC, a team that participates in the Spartan South Midlands League – a low-level league." William Seno, president of the Association of Filipinos in Sri Lanka (AFSRIL), said in an interview with GMA News Online via Facebook that cricket is the favored sport in Sri Lanka. He is optimistic of the Azkals' chances versus the host of the first leg of the qualifying tournament. "Hindi sila (Sri Lanka) mahilig sa football. Cricket sila kaya lamang na ang team natin dito," Seno said. Seno also revealed that the AFSRIL is firming up its plans to give the Azkals a morale-boosting welcome and presence at the away game in Colombo. "I already booked more than 100 Filipinos to watch the match on June 29." he said. The AFSRIL will meet this weekend to firm up its plans to cheer for the Azkals. According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there are around 1,200 Filipinos in Sri Lanka. Seno said most of the Filipinos there are highly-skilled technical people like engineers, consultants, managers and some doctors. The road ahead In Bonnie Ladrido's eyes, if the Philippines advances to Round 2 of the World Cup Qualifiers, Kuwait will be a crucial test. "Kuwait played in the Asian Cup (although it did finish last in its group). Kuwait played in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Almost all of its players play in their domestic league where competition is miles ahead of any Asian domestic league except Japan and maybe South Korea," said Ladrido. Coach Michael Weiss, like a chess grandmaster who thinks ahead by multiple moves, scans the road even further ahead. "In the second qualifying round awaits Kuwait, which is not to be underestimated, but we could get it much with Iran or Saudi Arabia more difficult. If we survive the second qualifying round, we are among the 20 best teams in Asia and could meet Kracher like Japan or South Korea. Until then, it is a long way," Weiss said in an interview with football website Spox.com. Weiss is also looking at how the whole field of football in the Philippines can be improved. He welcomes the excitement Filipinos have shown for the sport. "I am happy with the hype. Due to the enthusiasm many firms are suddenly very interested and want to sponsor us - and with no money that is not feasible, another boom of football. We need that support to build new training places and improve the general infrastructure." The PFF is working out a long-term assistance from Germany. "All I can say is that the PFF approached us in terms of a possible future cooperation. We are currently checking the possibility of getting a long term project realized in the near future. We will try to provide a coach/coach educator to assist PFF in setting structures," Markus Weidner of the German Football Association revealed to GMA News Online via email. He is the German association's head of coach education and international relations. Onward to Colombo, Sri Lanka Meanwhile, the Azkals have concluded their two-week training camp in Germany in preparation for the Qualifiers against Sri Lanka. Although the team lost their last test match against SV Darmstadt 98, 5–0, team captain Aly Borromeo said via Twitter that the experience gave them a boost. "Lesson learned to fine tune things. This could be the motivation we need," Borromeo tweeted. The Darmstadt team, also known as SV 98, posted the match highlights on their website. "In the first half, new signing Marcus brought Steegmann (8), Oliver Heil (12), Henry Onuwzuruike (14) and Markus Brüdigam (24) the 98s to a 4-0 lead. At half time Coach Lily joined Kosta Runjaic the entire team, and after the break test player Christopher Huebner scored the goal for 5-0 draw," SV 98 said. Darmstadt's friendly game with the Philippine team was one of several test matches their club lined up for the 2011-2012 football season in Germany. - JVP, GMA News