12 August 2011

Limpag: Of clubs and club championships

By Mike T. Limpag
Fair Play

Friday, August 12, 2011

DON’T have much high hopes for this year’s Smart Club championships as I believe the Philippine Football Federation didn’t have the preparation it would have wanted in holding such a tournament, just like the Suzuki U23 championships.


The clubs, too, I think weren’t able to prepare and I’m not only talking about the clubs that are in the national finals.

Take the case of Cebu, whose representative to the Visayas eliminations got hammered because it was ill-prepared. I heard the champion of the Aboitiz League, which was supposed to represent Cebu, declined due to misunderstanding about who should finance its trip.

The event is part of Smart’s P80-million kitty for Philippine football and I think the PFF had to fast-track everything to come up with national tournaments which, just a year ago, was as likely as a Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather match.


Smart announced its support during the PFF Board of Governors’ meeting last January, just over six months ago and between then and now, the PFF had to insert a Suzuki U23, three home games including two World Cup qualifiers and the renovation of the Rizal Memorial Stadium.


So you can give the PFF a little leeway if this year’s club championships isn’t a club championship as we have teams just assuming new names and teams fielding players from all over.


But, as Bong Pedralvez said when we got to discuss it with Graeme Mackinnon in a taxi ride from Rizal to the Diamond Hotel, “It’s a good start.”


I hope next year the club championships really become a club championship because it is the next logical step for the sport.

The Azkals may have raised the bar for Philippine football but it will be the clubs and the domestic tournaments that will take it to the next level. Of course, the UFL will play a big part, too.


Next year, I hope there’s a better structure for the competition and clearer rules on the transfer of players. Rules that in essence, should protect a club.


The same problem plaguing the PFF National Men’s Open, wholesale transfer of players who lost in the regionals to another club, seems to crop up anew and that, if unchecked, is a potential club killer.

A club’s existence would be jeopardized if the players can just jump ship at a moment’s notice, right? Back in 2004, it was proposed that a database of players be put up before the start of the local elims and players would no longer be allowed to jump clubs. I believe the PFF should revisit that rule before next year’s club championships.


Aside from that, I hope, too, the PFF and the schools can address the practice of school-based leagues not allowing their players to join other competitions while their own leagues are ongoing.


In our present system, collegiate footballers are the future of all clubs, and having them miss out this opportunity, for me, is a shame.


While I can understand the need for school-based leagues to protect its members, I don’t think it has to view other tournaments as a threat. And their standby-excuse of


“It’s the school who will pay if the player gets injured?” There’s a way around that.


And to prod the schools to release its players, do you know what is the next best thing to a national club championships?

A national schools championships.

Hmmm.

People from Globe, feel free to steal this idea.

(www.cebufootball.blogspot.com)


Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 13, 2011.

13 comments:

  1. People from Globe, feel free to steal this idea. ??? uhmm you stole from someones Idea already ! national schools championships exist,

    duhh???durrrr

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike, you took the words right out of my mouth... I totally agree with everything you've written & FYI, I did everything in the PFF BOG meetings arguing in-favor about everything you've written here on club championships/system... Problem is that many FA Presidents including some in the Board "DO NOT HAVE CLUBS IN THEIR OWN AREAS" & to make things worst, they're more inclined on the trophies & medals brought back home than actually making the club system work!... Now that I know someone who thinks & feels the same way I do on the topic, I'M NOT GIVING UP! A million thanks, Mike!

    ReplyDelete
  3. meron na dati sa bacolod national collegiate championships..mga 3 years ago ata yun..sponsored yun ni cojuanco...4 college ata teams ang sumali...

    ReplyDelete
  4. As an outsider,

    Sana naman pabayaan ang collegiate teams sa college-level football and those who have already graduated ang bigyan ng chance sa club championships - there are many players out there.

    College football players are the future but it is not yet the right time for competitive level for them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Take the case of Cebu, whose representative to the Visayas eliminations got hammered because it was ill-prepared

    mahina lang talaga ang cebu. excuses

    ReplyDelete
  6. just like the Unigames a undermanned iloilo team hammered cebu university best by 8-0 , ganun din ang result against bacolod(WNU) 7-0 ata ang score.

    ReplyDelete
  7. locally, magaling naman talaga and iloilo pero humahabol na rin yung iba. tingnan mo sa palarong pambansa - high school and elementary, hindi nyo na yan ma-dominate gaya nang dati.
    malakas na ang davao, cebu, ncr, bukidnon, etc. huwag naman masyadong magyayabang kayo dito.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In Cebus case, they would beat a Leyte team that is based in Leyte, not a team based in Manila and with reinforcements. Cebus problem is that theyre not united, they dont want to help each other so that football in Cebu will develop. They dont want to help for the better, its every man for himself, or should i say team.

    ReplyDelete
  9. eto malakas sa College at high school pati rin elementary !

    Western Visayas(Iloilo , Bacolod) then yung NCR , at Davao at Central Visayas.

    ReplyDelete
  10. mga hambogero kasi ang mga taga cebu eh,kaya di mag unite..if they unite malakas rin sila tulad ng bacolod,iloilo and dumaguete..
    sa ngayon malakas ang cebu sa age group..

    ReplyDelete
  11. it is the age groups (high school and elementary)in the palaro that should be the measure of how good the provinces/regions are now because by the time the boys to go college, many either stop playing or become varsities in manila schools in manila. so based on this, you can see that iloilo is no longer the powerhouse in football - to be honest,when was the last time a Region 6 team won in the high school or even elementary level in palaro?

    ReplyDelete
  12. ^^2009...mga two years ago..matagal na no?..national tournaments like u-19 and u-13 iloilo also won this tournaments..latest is national collegiate prisaa last may...lawlaw no?..hehe

    ReplyDelete
  13. ano definition mo ng powerhouse sir?..kasi for me as long as you play competitively you're a powerhouse team..and for me iloilo or region 6 will always be a powerhouse in football in the philippines..its just happen na lumalakas na rin and ibang region like region 7...and if you a refering on the latest palaro..that team is very googd team nagakataon lang na natalo sila against a home team at umiba ang format(if you lose you're out not like previous years na groupings pa)....maybe next year babawi naman iloilo or region 6...

    ReplyDelete