Last week saw a historic first in Philippine club football as all of its three representatives in Kaya FC-Iloilo, Dynamic Herb Cebu FC, and Stallion Laguna FC all successfully mounted their maiden hosting in their respective AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches.
Kaya started the week with the country’s first-ever hosting of an AFC Champions League match against Shandong Taishan FC of China PR. In addition, the match also was historic due to the fact that the Video Assistant Referee was implemented in the Philippines for the very first time.
“It was truly an honor to be the first-ever club to host an AFC Champions League match on Philippine soil,” said Kaya president Paul Tolentino. “To bring a competition of this prestige to the Philippines is no small feat, and a lot of gratitude and credit should be extended to all the people working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it happen.”
Kaya may have lost the match against the Chinese side, 1-3, but there was hope for the Iloilo side as Jarvey Gayoso became the first Filipino to score an AFC Champions League goal on home soil midway in the second half.
“We hope the Philippine football community enjoyed witnessing a foreign club of Shandong Taishan FC’s caliber compete at the Rizal Memorial Stadium,” added Tolentino. “We look forward to the arrival of two other world class opponents, Yokohama F Marinos and Incheon United FC, in the coming months.”
Stallion Laguna and Dynamic Herb Cebu became the fourth and fifth Filipino club to make their debut in the AFC Cup. Stallion had to face Indonesian side Bali United at the Biñan Football Stadium in Biñan, Laguna, while Cebu took on Cambodian side Phnom Penh Crown at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Both teams may have lost their matches but optimism is on the high for Stallion head coach Ernie Nierras and Cebu Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Ugur Tasci.
“It has been a good experience to host in Binan that was to me an important achievement not only for the city of Biñan, but for our fans as well,” said Nierras, whose side saw two goals from Junior Sam and Abraham Placito. “The lakeside squad was important to us and we’re happy that they were there.”
“The first match is definitely a good experience to learn from,” said Tasci. “Yes, we lost but we are looking forward to the next game. It was an opportunity to measure ourselves and our opponents in order to do better in our upcoming games.”
All three PFL clubs return to action later this week for the quarterfinals first leg of the Copa Paulino Alcantara 2023.