WILL federation president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta get a new mandate, or will Ricardo "Ricky" Yanson Jr. succeed in taking the highest post in the Philippine Football Federation?
This will be known after Thursday's (November 28) federation election.
It was recalled that current PFF President Araneta announced his presidency a month after Negros Occidental Football Federation president Yanson declared his intention to run for the federation's highest post.
In separate gatherings with football association leaders across the country, both laid down their plans for Philippine football.
For Araneta, he vowed to come up with more programs that will benefit the age-group players in the future.
Among those mentioned are Under-15, Under-16, Under-17, and Under-18 regional tournaments.
"We really have a lot of football activities coming in and I want to see that this is being implemented properly. We are not neglecting players at the age-group level. In fact, we have been revitalizing our grassroots program to find more homegrown talents in the country," Araneta said.
Meanwhile, if Yanson succeeds in his quest for PFF presidency, he promised to strengthen the grassroots program across the country. "We would also look into how we could help the upper age-groups in order to sustain the developments of these players," added Yanson, who also chairs the PFF Grassroots Committee.
Yanson has spearheaded the establishment of the Negros Occidental's grassroots development. He believes that youth can be the future of Philippine football through grassroots training.
Aside from staging age-group tournaments, Yanson also led various seminars for parents and coaches to further improve the grassroots program in the province.
On the other hand, in the ongoing 30th Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines survived a possible onslaught against Cambodia during the opening day of the football competition at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Cambodia posted a 1-nil lead in the first half with Keo Sokpheng shaking off defender Amani Aguinaldo and sending the ball past keeper Anthony Pinthus in the 40th minute. The home team tried several equalizer attempts but, the visitors' defense was tough.
However, the never-say-die attitude of the Philippine squad paid off as they escaped with a 1-1 draw on the goal from substitute Dennis Chung following an orchestrated play led by skipper Stephan Schrock.