Germans boost PFF grassroots program

MANILA—The Philippine Football Federation will embark on a long-term grassroots program with the goal of reaching the Under-17 Fifa World Cup in 2018.

PFF president Nonong Araneta told the Inquirer that the German Football Association (DFB) has agreed to help the PFF map out a feasible program to develop young players.

Araneta met with DFB officials last week in Frankfurt after attending the Fifa Congress in Zurich, Switzerland.

The PFF chief said the DFB will be sending a representative to the country late this month to make an assessment of the PFF’s programs.

“We can’t just say that we want to improve our grassroots program,” said Araneta. “We need to have a specific goal, and that is to make the Under-17 World Cup.”

Araneta said the target of the program will be 7- and 8-year-old players who will be eligible by the time the country joins the qualifying stage of the Under-17 World Cup.

Part of the plan is to come up with elite football centers for young players.

Araneta is optimistic the partnership with the Germans will yield results, pointing out that the DFB also embarked on a program in 2002 to produce a successful national team transition.

The players in that program, like Mesut Ozil, were instrumental in helping Germany reach the semifinal of the 2010 World Cup.

Araneta’s optimism is also spurred by the case of Southeast Asian minnows Timor Leste, whose Under-17 team is now making strides in Asia. It lost to powerhouse Japan by a mere 0-1 score.