PFF to keep Filipinas program going

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Football Federation assured the continuation and further improvement of the Filipinas’ program on the heels of the departure of team manager Jeff Cheng.

PFF president John Gutierrez and director for national teams Fred Gonzalez said the objective is two-fold -- to “keep the women’s program going and get the men’s program to be on par with the women’s.”

Gonzalez has assumed the role vacated by Cheng, filling the void just like he did for the men’s squad when team manager Dan Palami left.

“The way we set up the men’s team the last few months has been great and organized and we’re just going to be applying the same thing to the women’s moving forward,” Gonzalez said in a press briefing.

He said the Filipinas’ coaching staff led by Marc Torcaso will be under review but stressed the player pool and the activities will see little change.

“Right now, the women’s program is still going to continue as is, as Jeff mapped it out. We’re not going to change anything with regards to the player base, the player pool; In fact, we’re looking to even add more players,” said Gonzalez.

“We’re going to take a look at the process and everything that these guys have done over the years, see if changes need to be made, if anything needs to get better. But we don’t want to break up something that has been working.

“If it is indeed the best way to do things, we’re going to continue doing it. If we find areas where we can make improvements, we’ll make improvements.”