PFF President Hopeful of Potential June Return to Training With other leagues starting to resume, Nonong Araneta expressed his optimism that the PFL could follow suit.

With Metro Manila closing in on almost three months of Community Quarantine, a light has emerged at the end of what has been a long and isolated tunnel. This came after Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President Nonong Araneta expressed his optimism at a July start for the Philippines Football League on the Eat, Sleep, Breathe Football podcast.

The word came as welcome news to a football community that has been forced inactive since early March. With Vietnam following in the footsteps of Korea and Germany in the resumption of matches, and Spain soon to follow, there are increasing examples of how leagues and clubs can continue to operate despite the existing threat of COVID-19.

“We’ve been comparing notes with our ASEAN neighbors,” said Araneta, “Countries that have suffered worse than us, like Spain and Germany have opened up their leagues so I don’t see any reason why we cannot also open our league as long as we practice safety for the players.”

The president revealed that the PFF intends to submit today a document outlining the guidelines and protocols that will be followed for a safe start to the domestic season. Should this be approved by the Games and Amusement Board (GAB), the last step would be the go-ahead from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

According to Araneta, the venue for training sessions and matches would be restricted to the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, as venues such as Rizal Memorial Stadium and Biñan Football Stadium are next door to active quarantine facilities.

“Hopefully we can start the practice sessions by June 15, then after one month of practice, we start July 15 if it’s favorable to us. These players will not also come into practice if they don’t feel they are safe. We (PFF) will shoulder all the testing of the players and the officials prior to the practice and the games,” he said.

Having endured a lengthy delay to the start of the 2020 domestic season, the Philippine football community now holds its collective breath that the the PFF gets the necessary approval to begin holding matches once more. After all the uncertainty in recent months, not only is there now clarity, but hope that not too long from now, everyone will be back on the pitch soon.