27 March 2011

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers - Bacolod or Manila ?

"Araneta said the 30,000-seater Rizal Memorial football stadium in Manila and the 15,500-seater Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City are possible venues for the hosting of the home game of the series set June 29 and July 3."

Manila Bulletin

Who do you think should host the World Cup qualifiers in June/July, Manila or Bacolod ? I been created a poll in my blog.

You can also post comments.

30 comments:

  1. If the Rizal Memorial football stadium can seat 30,000 people, I would go for this choice of venue so that more people could watch. Didn't they just renovate the pitch or something like that? Choosing another venue (other than Bacolod) would also let another set of people catch the games. Whichever location they choose, they should choose soon so that they could start sprucing up the chosen stadium.

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  2. give it to Bacolod because people from negros, iloilo and neighboring provinces know their football. they know how to appreciate the game. as for Manila, just cover it live and we'll be fine here. just dont get Henry Atayde as a commentator 'coz he's nonsense. Darren Hartman will do, he's good and a lot better than Atayde.

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  3. i think its better if Bacolod so that negrenses would have a chance to see them again . unlike in manila na almost all of the concerts are held there. even just for football, bacolod could host it again. bacolod would have a greater venue :)or maybe we could let the azkals choose na lg. besides they are the ones naman to play. hehe :P

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  4. Obviously it should be in Manila. The Rizal Memorial Stadium is our national stadium and it should be held there. It also has a bigger capacity and better chance to be approved by FIFA.

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  5. hmm tough to choice for PFF indeed, but I'd go with Manila, no more connecting flights for our Filipino players coming abroad and to the teams that we are competing against. Also the proximity of hotels, hospitals and other amenities needed by the everyone who's involved with the match.

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  6. Let the azkals choose. Let them play where ever they feel most at home.

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  7. it will be at the rizal memorial

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  8. ni renovate na ba ang rizal stadium?

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  9. Based on recent pics, they did a bit of renovations. They removed the long jump lane and pit from the field, and it looks like they relaid the grass as well. They also removed the seats from the grandstand so they need to reinstall them. Probably new seats will be placed? I hope so.

    Anyway... For the people that say Bacolod, you need already hosted the match against Mongolia, the ASEAN C'ship qualifiers in 2006 and you were also suppose to host the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers but for whatever reason got moved to Iloilo. So it's time for Manila to host a match. The last time that happened was in 2001, World Cup qualifier against Laos at the PhilSports Stadium. Specifically for the Rizal Stadium, last match that took place there was in 1997!

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  10. There is a very slim chance that the games for the WC Qualifiers will be played in Rizal Memorial. Although there were some renovations made the team's dressing rooms will never pass the approval of AFC. Rooms are filthy and stinky due to drainage problems. Room height will also be a problem for players above 6 feet. Unless the PSC will renovate these rooms i don't see how it would be possible to hold the games in Rizal.

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  11. That may be the case for the Rizal stadium, but it also doesn't mean FIFA will approve the Panaad.

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  12. The Brasilians play their key games in the major cities of Rio or Sao Paolo (because the footballing traditions there are rich and the populace able to appreciate it)....you never hear them talking about playing major football games in the capital of Brasilia. In that same vein, give the game to the footballing hotbeds of Bacolod or Iloilo. Even when Manila & her ManileƱos forgot Paulino Alcantara and the country's footballing history, the Visayans did not. Besides, the roads and chaos of Manila are a liability.

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  13. Only Manila or Cebu should be considered as the site of any national stadium. National stadia host international games. These two cities are the only ones with the transport links and other infrastructure to cope with future growth.

    Equally important is the stadium must be one that makes the nation proud and foreign audiences applaud. No more tarted-up worn-out sports fields with running tracks please.
    Yes it will cost a fortune but designing it as
    an easily-converted conference/entertainment venue will help to pay the bills. Football is booming worldwide and corporate sponsorship will also kick in. English Premier League Arsenal's ground is called 'The Emirates'. The Dubai-based airline is happy to pay $millions every year for the privelege.

    I know commercial sponsorship of national teams is a no-no with FIFA but as long as no logos are worn during games to hell with it; anything that helps to secure the financial future of football has to be welcomed.

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  14. manila? :D you have got to be kidding.. you can't even gather 200 people to watch a ufl game.. hahaha,, i'm sure you'd fill rizal memorial if the azkals would have a concert and autograph signing.. leave the qualifiers to people who live and breathe football..

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  15. Cebu na man. palagi lng bacolod at manila. Ang Panaad Colisuem hindi naman talaga maganda at malaki.

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  16. bacolod-in visayas...the people here are football crazy...you can see in games held here in bacolod how jampacked panaad stadium gets...i doubt if rizal stadium could get filled to the rafters when azkals play there

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  17. The UFL and it's club isn't the national team. And it's obvious the 'in' team is the national team, not a club team of any kind. So if the national team does play in Manila or anywhere else in Metro Manila, you can bet your house the stadium will get filled.

    All these arguments about the south being football crazy and are 'more passionate' about the game than people in Manila is old and outdated. You people need to give it up.

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  18. We went to Panaad to watch the PH-Mongolia game from Manila. The stadium was horrible -- far from the city, middle of nowhere, limited access roads, no public transpo, no parking, no chairs. Mas maganda pa ang PSC-Ultra.

    All these complaints about Rizal Memorial may be true but it is not as if the Bacolod stadium is much better. It has to be done in Manila. The Bacolod folk are already fans -- if the Azkals want a national following they have to start working on getting the Manilenos to care.

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  19. Manila can just watch on live TV. Bacolod or Iloilo, the hotbeds of football in the country, should be the venue. Besides, the locker rooms of Rizal will never pass FIFA standards.

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  20. Yeah, it should be either Bacolod or Iloilo. We should give creidt to these places for promoting and preserving football in our country.

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  21. as much as i want it to be held in cebu, cebu has NO stadium at all... cebu city sports center is not fit to hold matches, it has been horrible for years... the pitch has never been completely covered with grass for as long as i can remember... locker rooms smell, rest rooms are just horrible... so no to cebu unless we build a world class stadium at SRP...

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  22. It should be in MANILA for all practical reasons, and so that the Philippine Football can do an "in-your-face" bit once again to basketball!

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  23. where should you play the important football matches? in the country's capital? or in the football capital? Bacolod is the obvious answer

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  24. how about a flip-flop, PBA in Bacolod this time for a change, then important football matches in manila? peace toto.

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  25. Sentimentally Bacolod, Rationally Manila
    The stadium can take more people therefore more money will be made
    The corporate world and the sponsorship money are in the capital and it would certainly make them part with their sponsorship cash once they realize the potential value of football investment brings.
    Chers

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  26. The Azkals havent played in Manila in a long time. I agree with the last anonymous that sponsorship money will boost the football program if they play in Manila. It will be jam packed. You have people talking in the streets, in elevators, in offices. Everyone is interested in the Azkals and football right now and fans in Manila should be given a chance. Obviously, there will be an equal call for it to be played in Bacolod which I feel is the true home of football. But a game in Manila when everything is in fever pitch will cement football's place in the minds of the public. If we look at the bigger picture, it will be good for football in general at the end of the day and the repercussions will not only affect Bacolod as a hotbed but also the entire country when the corporate world will take more notice. Ive always been supportive of strategies that take advantage of existing resources. I feel if they give Rizal Memorial a face lift, it will not cost as much money as starting a new stadium from scratch. Such a measure will be crucial to the development of football.

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  27. Those who think a brand new national stadium is not affordable should think of it this way: the money siphoned off by the Philippine Armed Forces could have built world class facilities in every major city in the country. What's needed is a moral revolution, not just a football one.

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  28. Panaad stadium is just located near subdivisions here in Bacolod City...but I don't believe about having no public transport and limited parking space...there's a lot there actually!

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