FF Suzuki Cup, State of Pinoy Football

It’s the AFF Suzuki Cup and the Philippines is hosting it (or at least half of it). Did you know about it? Have you ever heard of the AFF Suzuki Cup? Do you know the significance of this tournament? Did you know that it’s the most prestigious tournament in this corner of the world, here in Southeast Asia? Forget the SEABA of basketball. This one is bigger, bolder, more followed, and has media coverage and fan following like no other. This is held every two years (every even year), and played a big part in the popularity of the Azkals when we scored a breakthrough in 2010, barging into the semifinals for the first time ever. This gave Pinoy Football a big lift and the Azkals are now well-respected in the region, a far cry from its cellar-dweller status in the past. And so I ask again, rephrasing my question. Did you know that the Philippines is hosting the most prestigious tournament in the history of Pinoy Football? Your reply to this question is practically the state of Pinoy Football. Are we as a basketball-mad country, are we ready to give football the same attention that it gets at our Southeast Asian neighbors?

The AFF Suzuki Cup kicked off last night with two games played at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan. Myanmar is the other host of group play and their games start today. The games here will be played Tuesday and Friday. Last night (after we wrote this piece), Thailand played Indonesia, while the Azkals played Singapore. The four teams form this “group of death,” as all teams are capable of going all the way to the finals. Thailand is heavily favored to top the group with the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia left to battle for second place. Thailand is so strong that it’s acknowledged to be a level higher than all other Southeast Asian countries. However, the Azkals are currently ranked the highest among SEA nations in the FIFA world rankings at 124. Thailand’s rank is 146; Singapore at 171; Indonesia at 179. But I’d rather not believe this one bit. That’s on paper and all football followers know that Thailand is it. The Azkals are now more popular ever since all those Fil-foreigners agreed to carry the colors of the country, much in the same way the Fil-Ams have come to the country to play professional basketball and/or play for the flag. So don’t be surprised if you’re going to hear some foreign sounding names on the Philippine side. The team that you saw play in 2010 and the players who played two international friendly games in Cebu may not be on the team anymore in this current AFF Suzuki Cup. This is how fluid the team has become since 2010. Thomas Dooley is the third Azkals coach since then and has done a great job of steering the country to its current ranking despite our not having a pro league at the same competitive level as our neighbors.

My main concern about our hosting is how well-received it will be from us Pinoy football fans. I can still recall the warm welcome that Pinoys gave at the FIBA Olympic Qualifier tournament earlier in the year. The Mall of Asia Arena was filled at every Gilas game and many Pinoy watched their idols on the other teams like France, Canada, Turkey and New Zealand. Will we see the same reception at the Suzuki Cup in Bulacan (last night) and the rest of this week? I sure hope so. I can’t wait to watch the games on TV to see if Pinoys can fill up the stadium. Or will there be more foreigners supporting their own teams? I’m biased when I say that we in Cebu could’ve done a better job in hosting the AFF Suzuki Cup. Remember those friendly games against Singapore and Malaysia and the AFC President’s Cup? Our main problem is the lack of a legitimate venue for football. Even the Rizal Memorial Stadium didn’t pass the standards of the AFF and FIFA. And I’m afraid (and ashamed) that our very own Cebu City Sports Center won’t fit the bill. My other wish is that Bacolod, Dumaguete or Iloilo also could’ve done a good hosting job for something this big. I’m also concerned that there doesn’t seem to be too much hype generated among football fans. If the hype was up and Pinoy football fans were excited, are there Cebuanos or VISMIN football fans travelling to Bulacan to watch the games? I haven’t see too many TV plugs or commercials other than those shown on Fox Sports. I didn’t see any clear drive to generate support for both the country’s hosting and the Azkals from our sports leaders from either the government or private sectors.

I guess this is the basketball fan in all of us. Football just hasn’t gotten into the mainstream of things in Pinoy sports. To borrow Bob Arum’s words, football hasn’t “crossed over” to the Pinoy sports fan, in the manner he “crossed” Manny Pacquiao over to the American sports market. But we will still call on all to support the AFF Suzuki Cup, our hosting and the Azkals. Big tournaments like this deserve this. To those sports fans in Manila, you should be happy you’re part of Pinoy football history. Please go to Bulacan and watch the games. To those of us in the probinsya, let’s watch all Azkals games on TV, cheer and say a prayer for them. Let’s lift Pinoy Football to higher grounds.