PFF rebuts doomsday theory

Philippine Football Federation (PFF) youth development committee chairman Johnny Romualdez yesterday refuted Filipino import Alfredo (Freddy) Gonzalezclaim that focusing on grassroots development at the expense of strengthening the national team is a step in the wrong direction.

Gonzalez, who plays as an import for Eastern Asia Bank (EAB) in Vietnams premier league, told The Star in an e-mail the other day the PFF has virtually ignored the national team to support a vision that is embodied in the "Kasibulan" program for six to 12 year olds. The word "kasibulan" means offspring. Gonzalez said the national team is doomed to failure unless there is a shift in emphasis.

Romualdez said the long-term goal of grassroots development is to create a core of players who will eventually make up a competitive national squad. Its a process that cant be done overnight, noted Romualdez.

"We agree with Freddy that the country needs a strong league beyond college," continued Romualdez. "We’re working towards that. We began our grassroots program in 1999. We expect the kids who started out with us to become our future stars. Its a process of development that could take a few years. At the moment, we’ve reached out to over 500,000 kids in 50 provinces."

The lack of a competitive commercial league has led Gonzalez to pursue his professional career overseas.

Romualdez disclosed that last year, the PFF disbursed about P30 Million–80 percent for grassroots development, 10 percent for the national team, and 10 percent for administrative expenses. He confirmed Gonzalez’ claim that grassroots development has the lion’s share of the funds.

But Romualdez explained that in the PFF’s pyramid approach, there is an ascending order of growth from under-13 to under-14 to under-16 to under-19 to under-23 and finally, to the open division.

The goal of grassroots development is to provide Filipino kids the opportunity to play the game,said Romualdez. The first stage is we instruct the instructors then we teach the teachers and finally, we hold the football festivalsnow about 350 organized nationwide. Each festival has about 500 boys and girls who play about 120 games.

Romualdez said the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) supports the PFF to the tune of a $1 Million grant every four years. Additionally, FIFA has contributed $400,000 for a national infrastructure revolving around regional centers such as the Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, pilot project that has facilities for a dormitory to accommodate some 50 players, an office, and a football field.

Romualdez said the Red Ribbon Bake Shop of former national player Danny Moran is financing the under-14 program via a grant of P1 Million a year, Coca-Cola the under-16 level and Adidas the under-19 bracket. Other funds from the UNICEF and the German government are channeled to grassroots development. What remains unfunded are the programs for under-23 and the open class.

Romualdez said the Asian Football Federation, headed by Mohamed Bin Hamam of Qatar, recently decided to finance premier leagues in countries like the Philippines where football is underdeveloped. He revealed that the PFF plans to use the $400,000 annual subsidy to organize a league for about eight to 12 teams. Romualdez estimated each team to cough up about P1.5 to 2 Million a year beyond what will be contributed by the PFF. This could be the realization of Gonzalezdream, he added.

"We are two years too late in establishing a strong premier league," said Romualdez. We might not be able to put up a competitive team for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games which well host in 2005. To prepare for it, we’ve got to do a quick fix and maybe bring back coach Krautzaun Eckhart who took us to fourth place in 1991.

The 25-year-old Gonzalez, however, will not be eligible to play for the Philippines in the SEA Games which has an age limit of 23 for football. It is in the prestigious Tiger Cup where SEA countries play their top stars with no age limit.