CFA urges Cebuanos to support Cebu’s hosting of President’s Cup

The Cebu Football Association (CFA) headed by its president Pericles “Ricky” Dakay is calling on Cebuanos to show the rest of Asia that Cebu City is capable of hosting an international football tournament.

The Asian Football Confederation finally confirmed last weekend Cebu’s hosting of the Group B stage of the 2013 AFC President’s Cup on May 8, 10, and 12 at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).

The 2013 AFC President’s Cup will be the 9th edition since its conception in 2005. It is not merely an AFC-sanctioned football tournament but a tournament organized by the AFC for clubs from emerging countries in Asia.

With Cebu as host, it is once again contributing to the Philippine sports history as this is not only the first time in Cebu but also the first time that the Philippines got the approval to host the event.

It will also be the first time that the Philippines will be competing in this tournament.

The Philippines to be represented by Global FC being the 2012 United Football League champions. It  is grouped with Dordoi Bishkek of Krygyzstan, Yeedzin of Bhutan and KRL of Pakistan.

By having this tournament here, Cebu is once again placed on the map of Asian football.

“The best support that the Cebuanos can give is to be there and watch the games,” said Dakay who added that AFC will judge our hosting capabilities by the number of spectators that will show up and watch the matches.

Global FC, which has a few members of the Philippine Azkals in its lineup such as Cebuanos Paolo Pascual and Patrick Reichelt, will be arriving this Friday while the rest of the teams will be arriving on May 5.

Group A stage comprised of clubs from Nepal, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia and Bangladesh will be played in Nepal while Group C will be played in Cambodia.

Seeing action in Group C are clubs from Cambodia, Palestine, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.

Each group will be playing in a single round robin format with the top two teams advancing to the final stage slated September.

Ticket prices for this international match will is pegged at P1,000 for the VIP, P500 for the red, blue and white sections and P100 for the pink, yellow, and green sections.

One ticket is good for one day, wherein two games will be played. The first game will start at 4:30 p.m. while the second game starts at 6:30 p.m.

CFA is offering a season pass, wherein a spectator who buys two tickets will get the third ticket for free. These tickets will be available anytime this week pending the approval from the AFC.