Leveling of CCSC field for Azkals-Lions game resumes

The stormy weather failed to stop the Cebu Football Association (CFA) from working on correcting the un-evenness of the Cebu City Sports Center football field where the Nov. 15 international friendly match between the Philippine Azkals and Singapore Lions dubbed as “Faceoff” will be held.

Rodney Orale, one of the CFA board members tasked to oversee the preparation of the pitch, was at the CCSC yesterday to supervise the continuing work being done on the football field.

Last Saturday, Philippine Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss conducted an occular inspection of the field and said that work needs to be done to flatten the bumpy areas on it.

Orale said that they have been working on the uneven surfaces of the field since the last two games of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football competition early this month.

He said they also consulted Rodrigo Villanueva of the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club (AVGCC) who proposed a top dressing of fine sand to fill up the holes in the field.

Orale said that putting sand will not hinder the growth of the carabao grass.

AVGCC has also lent CFA its four gardeners and a fertilizer spreader to maintain the grass growth until the date of the international match.

Orale said the fertilizer must be spread on the entire field evenly because too much of it in one area will cause dead patches of grass.

He assured that the fertilizer they are using will not pose a risk to the players as it is not hazardous. Also, the fertilizer will only be applied this week so there’s time to let it seep into the soil and leave no residue by the time the match will be held.

The Dakay Construction Development Corp. has also lent a mini compactor to flatten the bulging portions of the pitch especially on the sides of the field.

Orale said they have made sure the tonnage of the compactor will not destroy the grass.

Raking of the field will follow to create holes where water could sip in faster and ensure the continuous growth of the grass.

A budget of about P100,000 for the field rehabilitation had been set.

TV COVERAGE

The CFA, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and television partner ABS-CBN also met for the live TV coverage of the tournament.

Discussed were the positioning of the TV cameras in the venue, the lighting requirements for a TV production, and merchandising/advertising opportunities for local sponsors.

Also planned was the setting up of the center camera on the opposite side of the grandstand along the wall of Abellana National School so the coverage will have the spectators as background instead of an empty wall if the camers will be installed in the grandstand like previous coverages for boxing and the Sinulog.

Merchandising and advertising requirements were also discussed with regard to how and where to post the billboards, streamers and exhibit booths of the event’s sponsors.

In the meeting were PFF’s Ebong Joson, ABS-CBN’s TV director Al Neri and a technical team and CFA’s Mike Veloso, Joey Herrera, Orale, Raffy Musni and Rico Navarro.

Also present were representatives of Advertising Services and Promotions (ASAP), the event’s advertising partner.