JAKARTA—If the Philippines can come up with an international-standard pitch and facilities for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) staff and media, it may be able to host the Suzuki Cup, according to Ravy Khek, AFF vice president and match competitions chairman. “Two years from now, we will guide the PFF to host the Suzuki Cup,” declared Khek.
“We just want to be sure of several things—we need a football-fit stadium with enough light. That means at least 1,200 floodlights. We need good security for the spectators and the teams. Besides that, we need to beam the broadcast live. And there should be Wi-Fi availability for the AFF staff and all the media. This is a good thing for the Philippines and the sport as it grows. It will also make the competition in Asia much better.”
Khek, a Cambodian native, also marveled about the turnaround of the Philippine team which has also spiked interest in the premier football tournament in the Asean region.
“It is tremendous for football because we can see in two years the Philippine national team has progressed significantly. There are plenty of good players and they have good tactics and discipline now. That’s why they are in the finals.”
“Think about countries small or big that are very competitive. I just finished talks with Singapore and Myanmar who have been eliminated and they are saying that the smaller countries in terms of football are now among the best. It’s good for the sport and it’s good for the region.”
The AFF was also ecstatic about the television ratings for the games.
“For the ratings, we heard from World Sports Group, our marketing partner. They indicated that the matches in group stages are more watched in the Asean region than the AFC Cup, which is the premier tournament in Asia, and are better watched than many of the best matches of the World Cup in South Africa. For example, the Philippines versus Indonesia match last December 16 had a 70-percent rating in Indonesia at 70 percent of the television audience. Which is very big. Everyone agrees that this is the best football event in Asia right now.”
Dr. Dato Yap, a former AFF official now working as match commissioner for the Indonesia leg of the semifinals, said, “The current tournament is the highest rating one ever. You can say the games have been very competitive and the Philippines making the semifinals helped bring in a new audience.”
Rick Olivares, Business Mirror
