Phl ready to stage next Cup

KATHMANDU – Feeling that the time is ripe now that the Azkals are gradually making their presence in the AFC Challenge Cup known, Phl XI team manager Dan Palami is batting for the country to bid for the hosting of the next edition of the biennial bootfest for emerging nations.

“I think that’s the next step,” said Palami, whose wards are in the ongoing Challenge Cup final round for the very first time in this cold Himalayan nation, going all the way from the qualifying playoff last year.

“I’ll make a recommendation (with the Philippine Football Federation) that we (bid to) host the qualifiers for next year and the finals in 2014 as well,” he added.

Palami said he’s encouraged by what he’s seeing in the ongoing tournament here, both in terms of required facilities and the performance of the team, expressing belief that Phl would be more than ready for the next edition.

“By that time, we would have enough facilities to host the two groups in the finals and the qualification should be in the Philippines as well,” he said.

Target venues are the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, which will undergo facelift under the Fifa Goal project in July, the University of Makati Field, and the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

“I’ve seen the pitches (here) that we trained in and played and I think once we fix Rizal and maybe UMak, and there we have training pitches in other nearby areas, we should be okay. Also we’d like for one group to be in Panaad, that would be a big boost for football in the area,” Palami said.

The Azkals have overachieved as far as the Challenge Cup is concerned, reaching the Last-8 for the first time after hurdling the qualifying playoffs and qualifying group stages last year. They held their own against powerhouse North Korea in a 0-2 loss and went on to beat South Asian champion India, 2-0, after two games in Group B.

With crowd support, Palami believes the Azkals can be more of a force next time.

“Although there’s no seeding for the hosts, you will have the home crowd to depend on. I think that’s a very big factor,” he said.

“Well, it didn’t work for Nepal in this tournament, but I’m sure, with the crowd that we’ll having in the Philippines, it should be a sizeable hometown support,” he added.

He also expressed confidence the team will be a whole lot sharper come 2013 and 2014.

“We already have a strong base to start so we just have to continue with the training,” he said.

The Philippines hosted the Challenge Cup qualifiers in 2008 in football hotbed Iloilo, where the Azkals wound up with seven points at 2-1-0 the card as Tajikistan in Group B. But the Tajiks got the top spot and the lone berth to the final round owing to better goal difference, 6 against Phl’s 4.