Newly formed Cebu Football Club to see action in PFL

CEBU CITY — The newly formed Cebu Football Club (CFC) is gearing up for its debut tournament at the Philippine Football League (PFL) in November this year.

Dubbed as the first professional football club from Cebu, the CFC will be joining the PFL Cup or the Copa Paulino Alcantara in November 7 to 19 in Carmona, Cavite.

The club is also eyeing to seek action at the regular season of the PFL sometime next year.

For now, rigid training of the CFC line up is done at the Dynamic Herbs Sports Complex at the South Road Properties in Cebu City for November’s PFL Cup.

While a team once carried Cebu as its home base in the PFL, the CFC is a team that was formed with Cebuano and Cebu-based players forming the core.

Among those that will be playing for the CFC include 23-year-old Kintaro Miyagi who also played for the Philippine National Team and collegiate UAAP tournament under the University of the Philippines.

Joining Miyagi is fellow UP football team member John Francis Zambrano, former Azkal Jeremiah Borlongan, PH national team Daniel Gadia, UAAP veterans Mario Acot, Poy Saldivar, and Ace Villanueva.

Although the CFC has at least five import players, only two will be playing at the PFL Cup in November. These include Argentinian Ricardo Ivan Sendra and Spanish Joaco Caña.

The CFC Club will proudly represent the entire Cebu province in all professional leagues on a national level.

CFC Head Coach Oliver “Bingbing” Colina is calling out all Cebuano football enthusiasts to start cheering for its new football team, which he described to be a tough team to beat despite being a rookie as compared to other teams.

“Please support us and help us. This is for Cebu. This will provide honor for us that we represent our City [and Province],” Colina said.

Colina, however, said that they are not putting pressure on their players. He said that their priority is experience and enjoying the game. He sees that in the next two years, the team will be eyeing a championship.

Ugur Tasci, CEO and technical director of the CFC, said the CFC is in it for the “long term.” They are also looking for grass root talents and hopes for more younger players whose dream will be joining a professional football team in Cebu.

The CFC also boasts as the first in the Philippines that has its own home court stadium.

Dynamic Herb Sports complex features a league-standard astro-turf playing field as well as complete shower rooms and locker rooms, coaching staff offices and meeting spaces, press box and medical facilities.

The facility is sitting at a 1.2 hectare complex with bleachers that can initially accommodate 550 spectators. Aside from football, the facility can also host Rugby games, frisbee, and Obstacle Course Racing.

The facility’s expansion plans include an indoor arena that can be used for futsal, volleyball, and badminton.

JPV