Philippine football body builds on resurgence with groundbreaking of new Carmona headquarters
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is riding the momentum of the sport's resurgence in the country with its new headquarters breaking ground in Carmona on Saturday.
In the same month that the Philippine women's national football team claimed the country's first title in the AFF Women's Championship, the PFF marked a new era in the federation with the construction of the headquarters.
The new facility is being built from significant funding from the FIFA Forward Programme.
It will provide spacious offices with modern facilities to replace the current premises, which was also FIFA-funded back in 2007.
PFF's new headquarters will sit on 4,231-square meters of land that the federation procured through the AFC President's Infrastructure Initiative Programme back in 2020.
The headquarters is within walking distance of the national training center that has a full-sized FIFA-funded artificial pitch and two mini-pitches, enabling the PFF to house its core football facilities close together in a single location.
The facility will be a five-storey building that will provide PFF with sufficient space to expand its administration in a "modern, high-quality" working condition.
The groundbreaking ceremonies in Carmona were attended by PFF and FIFA representatives like Carmona Mayor Dahlia Loyola, Philippine Sports Commission Executive Director Guillermo Iroy, PFF president Mariano Araneta, Jr., PFF General Secretary Edwin Gastanes and FIFA delegates headed by Sanjeevan Balasingam, director for Member Associations Asia & Oceania.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also made a video message to celebrate the PFF's groundbreaking.
"Today is a historic day for the Philippine Football Federation – and I congratulate you as you break ground on the construction of your new headquarters," he said. "Your new home will allow your staff to relocate to a modern, spacious and state-of-the-art space.
"I am particularly happy to note that you have worked so closely with FIFA to reach the point you arrive at today, and this is exactly the aim of the FIFA Forward Programme: to provide tailor-made support to all 211 Member Associations, with more investment, more impact and more oversight."
PFF president Nonong Araneta called the project a "dream" for Philippine football.
"The project was once a dream for us," Araneta said. "But with the cooperation between the PFF, FIFA and AFC, we are seeing it come to life. Our space in the current headquarters is limited which poses a huge challenge for even the current personnel.
"With plenty of space, the new headquarters will make it a more conducive working and learning environment for our staff, coaches, referees and players as it would have several modern lecture and conference rooms. It is also very near to the PFF National Training Centre which is the hub of our on-field activities."
- Latest
- Trending
