CEBU FC beefed up its roster for the second half of the Philippines Football League (PFL) season after bringing in some new foreign players.
With the departure of prolific Turkish strimer Arda Cinkir, Cebu FC immediately filled the void by signing two foreign strikers to help on offense—Canadian Leaford Allen and Japanese Rintaro Hama.
The 27-year-old Allen transferred to Cebu FC from the Napier City Rovers of New Zealand top tier league, the New Zealand Central League. He had a total of 19 goals in his stint in New Zealand. Leaford has also played in leagues in Sweden and in his native of Canada.
On the other hand, little is known about Hama. But he last played for Kochi University FC in Japan.
Cebuano center forward Ivan Ouano also returns home after a short stint with United City FC (UCFC). The burly striker will also be a huge help on the offensive end.
The other new foreign player that Cebu FC also signed is experienced Ghanaian midfielder Ibrahim Moro.
Moro has a ton of experience playing for Swedish club AIK Solna, Turkish club Adama Demirspor and Danish club Silkeborg IF. He has also played in Egypt, Ghana, Bangladesh and Faroe Islands.
Another new addition to Cebu FC is goalkeeper Florencio Badelic Jr.
The foreign players that holdovers from the first half of the 2022/2023 PFL season are Mert Altinoz, Marius Kore and Mohamed Soumah.
Cebu FC is seeing action against Kaya FC-Iloilo in a rivalry match on Feb. 19 at the Iloilo Sports Complex.
Cebu FC’s last match was a 3-3 draw with United City FC last Oct. 15 at the Dynamic Herb-Borromeo Sports Complex. Kaya FC, on the other hand, beat Maharlika Manila FC , 4-1, on Oct. 22 at the San Lazaro Leisure Park.
The last time Cebu FC and Kaya FC met was on Oct. 9 in Cebu. Cebu FC walked away with a 3-2 win.
Kaya FC is currently at the top of the table with 30 points, while Cebu FC is at third place with 21 points. Cebu FC, however, is two matches behind Kaya FC on schedule.
UCFC is in second place with 24 points.