The Azkals

Filipino football has definitely been overpowered by the attention that basketball has been having in this country of ours. In the past century, both sports were very much successful in the international playing field especially during the first half of this age. Sadly, basketball went on to be the more popular sport as time went by. Nevertheless, the beautiful game never went away in the cities and provinces in the country. The only thing that made the difference was the attention that both sports had to the people of the Philippines.

December 2010, The rebirth of Philippine football

The AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 was the venue where our men's national football team redeemed the Filipino's attention. Coming off a 2-0 win in their first match against Vietnam, the defending champions of the tournament, the Azkals definitely started a spark in order to be noticed by the Filipino people and by other Southeast Asian countries as well.

As an individual and a footballer myself, I can honestly say that I am really really happy that this team has captured so much attention by the media and the average Filipino. Two days ago, as I was riding a jeepney on my way home, I overheard two guys talking about the result of the first leg of the semi-final match of the Azkals. That was the first time I heard an average Filipino talking about football in a random place.

I have been dreaming for the longest time already for the explosion of media attention on football that our country has. One of the main reasons why football has not been at par with other countries is the politics behind the main organization for football in the Philippines, the Philippine Football Federation. Although I don't know much details about these delicate issues, I really really hope that the pride of the bosses in these types of organizations get to be set aside because I really believe that football has a great future in this country.

This past month has definitely been a start for the Philippines to be able to get back on the map when it comes to the football ranks. I really pray that this attention for the sport will continue because we, Filipinos, have a lot to offer for football and vice versa.


Good fight Team Philippines! Go AZKALS!

Until the next time.

Phim