THE first week of the year brought sad news to Philippine football fans as storied club FC Meralco Manila, which finished at the top of the PFL regular season, announced it was closing because it couldn’t get new investors.
It’s a sad day for Meralco players and sadder still for the staff, who would have to start the new year without a job.
Some of the good players in the club, I’m sure, will be snagged by the other PFL teams.
My friend Bob Guerrero, the hardest-working media officer of the PFL last year is also shopping for a new team but I sure hope one of the other PFL teams will get him, maybe even Global Cebu? That a club backed by a major company like Meralco is closing is a poor picture of the state of club football in the country.
Green Archers United, one of the clubs projected to join the PFL last year, said the closure should prod the PFF to rethink its requirements for membership in the PFL.
To be honest, I excpected something like this to happen--or the PFL to close shop—after observing how the league was ran last year.
No sponsors. No TV partner and minimal publicity. A company can only bleed so much. In an ideal world, Meralco should have shouldered the losses, right? But that might mean the company might let go of some employees.
So where does that leave the PFL this season? I hope another club takes over Meralco’s spot and I hope the PFF will consider GAU’s suggestion.
Also, I hope for the crucial second season, the league will help the club in getting more fans in the stands. Kick off times weren’t fan friendly last season, and I hope that changes.
If the PFL can’t get league-wide partners, then why not partner up with local brands or local companies? There are plenty of companies based in Davao, Cebu or Bacolod who may not have as deep a pocket as the big national firms, might be able to help the league.
I’m not trying to be an expert here. I just want the league to succeed and sometimes, it’s frustrating to see how it seems the league is not taking any effort to survive. Or perhaps, it is just severely under-staffed? The PFL will have an early start in March, I hope a new team comes along for this season.
P.S. If you know anyone who has P20 million to burn, perhaps you can prod him or her in the PFL’s direction.