Koreans to play Azkals for charity

MANILA, Philippines - A top Korean football club from Icheon will also be coming over to play the Philippine Azkals in a charity match for the benefit of victims of typhoon “Sendong” on Jan. 21 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, organizers ABS-CBN and Dragon Promotions announced yesterday.

“The Jan. 21 game will be a great challenge to the young Azkals as they take on one of the top pro teams in South Korea from Icheon. Many members of the Icheon Korean Team have World Cup experience. The Azkals will have to be in top form in order to win this game,” the organizers said in a statement.

As this developed, a friendly match between Bilibid Prison’s medium security inmates and the German Club (GC) Manila’s resident football team, the GC Cranes, will be held Jan. 14 in Bilibid.

The Azkals, who will likely be joined by standouts from the Under-23 team and UFL for the match, are expected to learn from the Icheon booters.

Korea is a certified powerhouse, having had eight Fifa World Cup stints, the most for an Asian, and boasting of the most organized football program structure in the continent from the juniors to the pro level.

The Koreans will be the latest top-flight foreign team to come to Phl. Global icon David Beckham and MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy played the Azkals last month while Spanish third division club CF Internacional de Madrid (CFIM) is due for a charity game on Saturday.

Like CFIM, Icheon will play an Azkals-reinforced side in a fund-raiser for thousands of families affected by “Sendong” last month in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Players will be appealing to the Filipino and Korean communities to rise up and support the cause. All ticket proceeds will be donated to charities helping the affected families.