Cebu football Club (CFC) CEO Ugur Tasci and Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta. | Photo from CFC Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Ugur Tasci, CEO of the Cebu Football Club (CFC) Gentle Giants, has made a promise to bring at least one of their matches in the upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup to Cebu.
The Gentle Giants will campaign in the AFC under Group F and it’s highly possible that they won’t have a home game due to numerous circumstances.
One is that their home pitch, the Dynamic Herb-Borromeo Sports Complex, did not pass the AFC’s standard, while the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) pitch is currently under renovation.
In addition, Tasci said they must also overcome AFC rules which states that they can only play at one venue, the one where they started their campaign, which is the Rizal Memorial Stadium, where they will play against Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown FC on September 21.
CFC earned a slot in the AFC Cup after finishing second in its maiden Philippines Football League campaign.
But Tasci said that he is trying his best to address these concerns as he also vowed to bring at least one home game for his club.
He said that they are targeting to bring their home game on December 14 against Australia’s MacArthur FC which is tentatively set at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
According to Tasci, they are currently working on the Dynamic Herb stadium’s expansion and he hopes that the Cebu business community and the local government will be able to help them comply with the AFC’s requirements as he wants to gift the Cebuanos with a home game in December.
“It will be a good Christmas and New Year’s gift,” Tasci said.
Tasci said that they also have a plan B in place, which is to bring Cebuano football fans to the RMS and watch the game there. He said that they are currently in talks with Cebu Pacific to make that happen.
He added that they are also makings arrangement with some hotels in Manila for the accommodation.
Tasci made a promise to provide updates on the things that they are currently working on in the event of major developments.
In the meantime, the Gentle Giants are hoping to keep their streak in the ongoing 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara as they face the Pilipinas Dragons on Sunday, September 3, at the RMS.
They currently sit at the second spot of Group B with 6 points, having won 2 of their matches so far, a 2-0 win against the University of the Philippines and a 4-1 thrashing of the Manila Digger. / dcb
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