I GOT a call the other day from former Global FC owner Dan Palami, who was surprised at what my former boss Jack Biantan wrote in Pinoy Football the other day about the aborted sale of Global FC to Alvin Carranza of the teen Azkals. Ever since Global Cebu FC relocated to Manila this season, I haven’t heard much from the team.
Early in the season, though, I heard some not so good news, with some Manila-based colleagues asking if it was true that Global Cebu would follow Meralco Manila and Ilocos FC to the sidelines of the new season.
During the call, Dan said that unlike what Jack said, the sale of Global to Carranza pushed through and in fact the billboard magnate has delivered his first tranche of payments. In early January, he said, it was Carranza who wrote the PFL informing the league that it was withdrawing for the second season.
However, Global Cebu holdovers Josef Malinay and Kat Liscano managed to convince him to hold it for now and they would look for sponsors to help support the team in the league with of course, some belt tightening. Among the belt tightening measures was to play the home games in Manila, since traveling to Cebu meant spending almost P500,000 each tri for hotel, transportation, tickets, per diem, meals and what have you.
Global Cebu also wanted to honor its commitment in the PFL since Dan said not playing meant the Philippines could lose its spot in the AFC competition, which would be a huge blow to the rest of the clubs who are competing.
Anyway, what’s done is done and it can’t be denied that unlike Ceres and the Davao Aguilas, Global Cebu isn’t in the best fiscal shape and I think it has already affected its play on the field too, judging from earning just a point in five matches, a huge turnaround from last year.
Can the team shape up, fiscally and physically? I hope so.
It’s easy to wish that somebody, somehow will give it a financial boost but that’s going to be something that the head office of Global will have to be working on.
It’s just five games into the new season, and I hope midway into Season 2, the big stories will be about what’s happening on the field, not off it.