{"id":1606,"date":"2020-09-15T22:25:36","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T12:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:05:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:35:27","slug":"filipino-footballs-fight-for-relevancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/filipino-footballs-fight-for-relevancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipino football’s fight for relevancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be very difficult to imagine it now, but there was actually a time when Filipinos came out in numbers to watch a domestic league football match in Manila.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rival sets of fans would tout banners and cheer on their heroes, spending hard-earned money to make their way to the stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, mostly empty bleachers and a general apathy towards the sport begs the question: what happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite lagging significantly behind other sports in popularity in the Philippines, football was thrust into the limelight after the men\u2019s National Team, commonly known as the Azkals, stormed their way through to the semi-finals of the 2010 Suzuki Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filipinos rediscovered their love for the beautiful game after that most improbable run, and what followed was a period of glorious renaissance for the oft over-looked sport in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the national spotlight on them, the erstwhile fledgling local league, the United Football League (UFL) came to the fore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barely given scant attention before 2010, the league was the recipient of a lucrative TV deal worth 150 million pesos ($3m USD) for five years, giving the league a massive boost financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using both on-field footballing talents and good looks to equal measure, many footballers such as former Chelsea Youth players Phil and James Younghusband became household names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BUOx82pArrE\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eager to catch on to the next big thing, fans trooped to the stadium as the league \u2013 and the sport \u2013 came to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Live TV coverage was the norm, with four games being shown live on a leading TV network on the weekend. Once relegated to weekend corporate matches and one day football festivals, local Philippine football was back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its peak in 2013, there were ten teams in the both the first and second divisions, with a promotion and relegation setup in place. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got, and things would go downhill from there on in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012 and 2014, the Azkals were favorites to reach the Suzuki Cup final. However on both occasions, a combination of poor preparation, general inexperience, and bad luck would see the Azkals get knocked out in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would the sport have had a second renaissance had the Azkals won the Suzuki Cup? Certainly a new injection of interest, money, and sponsors would have been on the cards.         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There would be minor victories along the way, but with the Azkals inability to capture the Suzuki Cup or the AFC Challenge Cup, which would have given the country its first ever Asian Cup appearance, football gradually lost its luster and appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coinciding with this decline in popularity was the termination of the five-year TV deal in 2016.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By then, the UFL were down to a single division of twelve teams, three of which would withdraw mid-season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendances were primarily composed of friends and family, and in some games the TV crew filming the delayed telecast of the game would outnumber the other people in the grandstand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, there wasn\u2019t a massive outpouring of grief when the UFL made way for a nationwide league, even getting partially involved in the conceptualisation and planning of the country-wide Philippines Football League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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