The successful hosting of the Fifa-sanctioned friendly between the Philippine Azkals and the Singapore Lions continues to generate goodwill for Cebu City.
This was revealed to Cebu Daily News on Sunday by Ricky Ballesteros, manager of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), who said they have received offers to host more international events as well as the possibility of hosting football matches of next year’s Palarong Pambansa which is set to be held in Negros Oriental.
He said the CCSC’s pitch is “the best in the Philippines” as he reiterated what Azkals team manager Dan Palami and head coach Hans Michael Weiss told him.
“CCSC followed the international standards of a football field,” Ballesteros said. “The green grass is real grass, but when you look (at it) on television, it looks like an artificial grass.”
The rehabilitation of the CCSC pitch which amounted to P200,000 was financed by the Cebu Football Association.
“The whole playing field has a good drainage system so there’s no need to worry when it rains,” he said.
Should the CCSC host another major football match, Ballesteros said they will need about two months to prepare the pitch. Ballesteros said they need the lead time to prepare the soil and grow and trim the grass.
The CCSC manager also revealed that only half of the pitch will be used for next year’s Sinulog.
“The Sinulog event will only occupy the stage center area. Clearing of the stage takes a week after Sinulog,” he said./Tweeny M. Malinao