PFF chief seeks government assistance

MANILA, Philippines — As the preparation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign intensifies, Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta asked for government support for the training program.

Araneta estimated the Filipinas’ intensive buildup at $3 million and while the team gets financial backing from team manager Jeff Cheng and the International Football Federation and the Asian Football Confederation, they still need government funding.

The PFF, he said, has asked the Philippine Sports Commission for a P30 million assistance.

“The support is there but I still want some support from the government actually. Because up to now, even in our preparation, we haven’t been getting the support we need. Hopefully we’ll get it soon,” Araneta told reporters during Thursday night’s send-off hosted by the New Zealand and Australian embassies.

“To prepare for the Women’s World Cup is no joke. I think the budget for our preparation is about $3 million so I hope the government and the PSC can give us some funding for that also because as we know, they’ve given P1 billion to basketball – as host – but we have already qualified for the World Cup. So I hope they give enough to sustain the preparation.”

The PFF chief, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to the FIFA, which also recently approved a guaranteed minimum directed prize money of $30,000 for each player in the WWC.

“That’s a big boost for the morale of our players. Just to be there, they will get $30,000 each. FIFA is really trying to promote women’s football and they increased the prize money for women’s football,” he said.