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Philippines drop 1 place in FIFA World rankings as of 23 November 2011

23 November, 2011 FIFA, Philippine Azkals No comments

FIFA (The International Federation of Association Football) has updated its World rankings of the Men’s National Football teams as of 23 November 2011.

Philippines went down a notch lower from 158th to 159th with 130 points based on the latest FIFA world rankings released on Wednesday. The Azkals did not play a game from October 19 to November 23. Their last game was a friendly match 4-0 win against Nepal last October 11.

(via FIFA.com) – World and European champions Spain remain unchallenged atop of this month’s FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Although La Roja’s defeat by England and draw with Costa Rica lost them points, their place on the global ladder remains unchanged.

Just behind them, an intriguing three-way tussle is under way, with Germany edging dangerously close to the second-placed Netherlands following their 3-0 victory in the match between the two sides.

Hot on their heels are Uruguay, who are continuing to make progress following their convincing 4-0 win over Chile in the South American Zone qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and a friendly defeat of Italy, which brought Cesare Prandelli’s team’s 13-game unbeaten run to an end.

Within the top ten, England (5th, up 2) have climbed up the Ranking, as have Portugal (7th, up 1) and Croatia (8th, up 4) thanks to recent successes in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.

In the top 50, meanwhile, Czech Republic (33rd, up 14) and Ecuador (42nd, up 10) have made the biggest jumps.

Three teams are currently in their highest-ever position since the launch of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking in August 1993: Venezuela (39th, up 1), Cape Verde Islands (57th, up 9) and Antigua and Barbuda (83rd, up 7).

Interestingly, Sao Tome e Príncipe (192nd, new) have been ranked for the first time in four years following their two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Congo in November.

In all, 131 international ‘A’ matches were played in the past month, of which 72 were Brazil 2014 preliminaries, eight were EURO 2012 qualifiers and the remaining 51 were friendlies.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 21 December 2011.

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Philippines up 8 places in FIFA World rankings as of 19 October 2011

20 October, 2011 FIFA, Philippine Azkals One comment

FIFA (The International Federation of Association Football) has updated its World rankings of the Men’s National Football teams as of 19 October 2011.

Philippines jumped 8 places up from 166th to 158th with 127 points based on the latest FIFA world rankings released on Wednesday. The Azkals had a busy October wherein they played 5 matches. They went unbeaten in the 2011 Long Teng Cup and ended their season with a pair of friendly matches — a 2-0 loss to Singapore and a 4-0 win against Nepal, which dropped nine places to 144th from 135th.

(via FIFA.com) – The October edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was largely shaped by the qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and various continental championships.

With the second-placed Dutch losing 3-2 to Sweden (14th, up 11), Spain have been able to slightly increase their lead thanks to a 23rd consecutive home victory. Furthermore, the Netherlands’ pursuers, Germany, Uruguay and Brazil (up 2), have all managed to close the gap, while Greece (8th, up 3) and Denmark (10th, up 7) are back in the top ten after booking their place at UEFA EURO 2012 in the last round of matches.

After failing to qualify directly for the European finals, Croatia (12th, down 3) have dropped out of the top ten for the first time this year. In other news, thanks to their second victory against Switzerland (18th, unchanged) in 50 years, Wales (45th, up 45) are back in the top 50 after an eight-year absence.

As for the AFC zone, despite remaining unbeaten since the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, Asia’s top-ranked team Japan (17th, down 2) have slipped down a couple of spots.

In South America, thanks to their first-ever win over Argentina, Venezuela (40th, up 7) have continued to progress, while Ecuador now have the top 50 firmly in their sights after their fifth victory in a row.

With a total of 136 matches played, there has also been movement lower down the top 100, with a mixture of old and new faces heading in the right direction, including Caribbean side Antigua and Barbuda (90th, up 1), Iraq (91st, up 16), Guyana (97th, up 19), Guatemala (99th, up 10) and Cuba (100th, up 1). Meanwhile, two former participants in the FIFA World Cup finals, New Zealand (105th, down 16) and Bolivia (115th, down 34), have dropped out of the top 100.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 23 November 2011.

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Philippines slipped anew in FIFA rankings as of 21 September 2011

22 September, 2011 FIFA, Philippine Azkals No comments

FIFA (The International Federation of Association Football) has updated its World rankings of the Men’s National Football teams as of 21 September 2011.

Philippines slipped four places again from 162nd to 166th with 105 points while its Round 2 opponent, Kuwait, also slipped 4 slots down the ranking from 95th to 99th.

(via FIFA) – After just one month, the Netherlands (2nd, down 1) had to relinquish first place to Spain (1st, up 1) on the September edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

With England having taken a tumble (8th, down 4), Germany (3rd, unchanged) now sit directly above Uruguay (4th, up 1), who occupy their highest-ever position on the global ladder. Other movers towards the summit were Portugal (5th, up 3), Italy (6th, up 1) and Brazil (7th, down 1).

Elsewhere in the top 50, Switzerland (18th, up 12), Bosnia-Herzegovina (22nd, up 17), Hungary (27th, up 18) and Armenia (44th, up 27) all made good progress.

Outside the top 50, meanwhile, no fewer than six teams leaped more than 20 places: Estonia (58th, up 28), Sierra Leone (68th, up 24), Wales (90th, up 27), Togo (95th, up 26), Namibia (119th, up 24) and Nicaragua (155th, up 24). In addition, Papua New Guinea re-entered the Ranking in 187th place.

By and large, the highest climbers of the month won one or more of their FIFA World Cup™ or continental qualifying matches. As a result of the major shake-up, several teams are now in their best-ever positions since introduction of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, namely Uruguay (4th, up 1), Bosnia-Herzegovina (22nd, up 17), Hungary (27th, up 18), Armenia (44th, up 27), Estonia (58th, up 28) and Belize (133rd, up 15).

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Ranking will be published on 19 October 2011.

Next few matches of the Azkals in the coming weeks: Against Singapore who is ranked 136th. Nepal at 135th. As for the 2011 Long Teng Cup, current cup holder Hong Kong is at 156th, while host Chinese-Taipei is at 172nd and Macau at 191st.

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PFF gets P21-Million FIFA grant

27 August, 2011 FIFA, PFF One comment

By FRANCIS SANTIAGO (Manila Bulletin)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Azkals will soon have a practice pitch they can call their own.

The International Football Federation (FIFA) has approved the grant of $500,000 (roughly P21.7 million) to transform the Philsports pitch into an artificial turf as part of FIFA’s Goal Project 2 for the Philippines.

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano ‘Nonong’ Araneta Jr. yesterday said FIFA approved the grant after it was satisfied with the draft of the provisions in the Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the PFF and the Philippine Sports Commission.

The PSC, which manages the pitch, has agreed to have an artificial turf installed in the 10,000-seater Arena in Pasig City.

Philippine Football Federation PFF logo“We (PFF and PSC) will have to sign the MOA again on Sept. 1, but it’s only for formality because the draft has already been approved by FIFA,” Araneta said.

Under the agreement, the PSC will turnover the management of the turf to PFF officials for the next 25 years.

But Araneta said the $500,000 FIFA grant for artificial pitch won’t be enough, and the PFF may need to shell out $100,000 (P4.3 million) more to cover for the cost of construction.

The PFF had earlier proposed the Parañaque lot of charismatic leader Mike Velarde as the site for the project, but FIFA thumped it down after it found some kinks in the provisions proposed by the Velarde group in the MOA.

The FIFA also found the site unfavorable because it is located in the flight path of airplanes going in and out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The grant comes as a big boost for the Azkals, who don’t have permanent practice area and only use alternately the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium and the pitch at the Alabang Country Club as training site.

Meanwhile, Araneta said Vietnam has turned down the invitation of the PFF for an Oct. 9 exhibition match against the Azkals at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

But Araneta said they will not stop at looking at the other available teams as they have now invited Bangladesh and Oman. They have also invited India for an Oct. 6 friendly clash, but has yet to reply.

PFF mulls FIFA friendlies for Philippine Azkals

26 August, 2011 FIFA, PFF, Philippine Azkals No comments

By Olmin Leyba (Philippine Star)

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is trying to arrange a pair of FIFA friendly matches in October to test the skills of the Azkals and possibly improve their ranking among football-playing nations.

The Azkals stand at 162nd in the latest monthly world rankings released by the FIFA last Wednesday, maintaining their previous position. They failed to earn ranking points from their 0-3 and 1-2 setbacks to Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers second round last July 23 and 28.

PFF president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta said they are inviting Oman, Qatar, and Singapore to come over for a friendly on Oct. 6 prior to their third round campaigns in nearby countries.

Oman (103rd) will play an away match against Australia on Oct. 11, the same day Qatar (88th) is set to take on home side Australia, and Singapore (129th) hosts Jordan.

Philippine Football Federation PFF logoAnother tune-up is eyed on Oct. 6 against Bangladesh, a side that the Azkals defeated in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers but ranks higher than Phl at 139th.

The Bangladeshis moved eight notches in the latest rankings on the strength of their 2-0 win over Lebanon in the second leg of their FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round 2 tussle. Bangladesh eventually lost to the Lebanese on goal aggregate, 4-2, to bow out.

“Hopefully Bangladesh will accept our invitation since they have no more (WC) matches and anyone among Oman, Qatar and Singapore will agree to play the Azkals before their third round,” Araneta told The STAR.

“Our players based in Europe will be available during those dates (Oct. 6 and 9) so we can truly gauge the team against higher-ranked opponents,” he added.

The PFF had earlier invited Malaysia, Vietnam, Nepal and Jordan but each declined.

The Azkals will resume training on Aug. 29, then hold camp in Bacolod City from Sept. 8-15 to play against Ilonggo squads before competing in the Long Teng Cup in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei on Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

Some of the players in the Philippine U-23 pool will join the Azkals in the Chinese-Taipei meet. After that, the U-23 booters and their teammates will spend one week in Southern Japan (Oct. 21-28) as final buildup for their Southeast Asian Games sortie.

More friendlies to toughen Azkals, PFF plans 4-country tourney

28 July, 2011 FIFA, PFF, Philippine Azkals No comments

By Cedelf P. Tupas (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Like Philippine Azkals Coach Hans Michael Weiss, the country’s football top honcho, Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, longs for the day when the national team will have the best available players, particularly the standouts based in Europe.

That’s why the Philippine Football Federation president wants more friendlies for the Azkals that also follows the International Football Federation (FIFA) calendar.

Araneta told the Inquirer yesterday that he plans to invite Asian countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong and China to play against the Azkals late this year or early next year.

Player availability has always been a problem for the Azkals as some of their best players like Stephan Schrock, Ray Jonsson and Neil Etheridge ply their trade in European leagues.

The trio played in the second round World Cup Qualifying duel against Kuwait last night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium after they were allowed by their European clubs at the last minute.

Araneta feels the current squad can still get better with the infusion of Europe-based players like Paul Mulders, Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara, whose availability are always in doubt because of club commitments.

Philippine Football Federation PFF logo“We really want to have the best available players for the team to have time to play together because that’s the only way we can improve,” said Araneta, who was also a national player in the late 70s until the early 80s.

“Those friendlies with our best players are the only way we can really gauge how good our team is and how good they can become.”

Araneta said that the only way to have the squad together is to set friendlies that are in line with the FIFA calendar.

The Azkals were in Myanmar for the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers when international friendlies were held.

They were in training camp in Germany during the international break last June and Araneta said the team missed the chance of playing friendlies against teams in the Middle East because they were in Germany.

Weiss said the current Azkals squad is still two to three years away from reaching its full potential.

“Our development has been fast, but in reality the process is longer,” said Weiss, who has three wins, three draws and two losses in his first six months in charge of the Azkals.

“The team has a lot of potential, but it will take time.”

Start sending the money

28 July, 2011 FIFA, PFF No comments

By: Mo Billacura

Davao Football Association president Edward “Chaya” Lam, whose team Columbia Computer Center FC blasted KMMPC 7-0, at the start of the Davao Premier League’s 1st Division, strongly believes that Japan’s FIFA World Cup victory will inspire other Asian countries to further develop women’s football.

The Japan Football Association, a supporter of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and the DFA, for years has worked very hard to move up in the rankings in a sport dominated by Europeans and eventually North and South America.

With a genuine football program in place, after years of painstaking development, Japan FA finally emerged as world champion.

Davao Football Association (DFA) logoIn the local stage, Lam, in partnership with the late coach Jose Te and president Vic Sai, has seen what a genuine football program can do. They did this for women’s football in Davao in the early 1990’s. If you check the records, Davao City emerged national champions, not just once but three times and no wonder, the Philippine Team recruited many Dabawenyas to join the pool of national players.

But sustaining it is not easy. Football, unfortunately, is not a popular sport in Davao which is not the case in Japan and in other Asian countries where the sport is a big attraction for the youth.

This is the reason why FIFA, the world’s governing body for football, has continued to support member-countries in Southeast Asia in order to make the sport popular. Money has been flowing to the PFF and to other associations because FIFA shares money with them from income generated by organizing the famous World Cups.

Just recently, Japanese instructor Takeshi Ono came to Davao to conduct the 3rd FIFA Grassroots Proactive Course-Mindanao Region, as well as spread the word of the beauty of the sport.

Again, I’m not against basketball, but if we are going to develop international sports stars from Davao, football players can be among them.

If you notice on television, the Americans were taller compared to the Japanese. But this was not a factor for Japan to score twice against the No.1 team that led to a penalty shootout.

Davao never had tall players when they won the national title three times. But they played with a big heart and trained very hard at the old PTA field. Had the PFF seen the importance of training the Dabawenyas in a higher level, for sure, at the time, the women’s football team could have been a team to reckon with in Southeast Asia.

DFA general secretary Erwin E. Protacio, on the other hand, sees Japan’s win as a meaningful victory as it provided a smile to the victims of tsunami. He thinks too that this will encourage other Asian countries to excel in the sport and follow what Japan did.

But I hope PFF will again take a close look again at women’s football development in Davao because it has been proven during the time of Lam, as treasurer, the late coach Jose Te and president Victorio Sai that winning national titles is not impossible.

It can be done, especially, if PFF officials in Manila start sending money to the DFA coffers. Take note that, Mr. Lam is very transparent when it comes to financial matters and there’s no need to worry. So, start sending the money.

Philippines slipped anew in FIFA rankings as of 27 July 2011

27 July, 2011 FIFA, Philippine Azkals No comments

FIFA (The International Federation of Association Football) has updated its World rankings of the Men’s National Football teams as of 27 July 2011.

Philippines slipped three places again from 159th to 162nd while its Round 2 opponent, Kuwait, went seven steps up the ranking to 95th.

(via FIFA) – Following their 3-0 final win over Paraguay, champions Uruguay (5th, up 13) not only moved back into the top ten but also achieved their best-ever position. Finalists Paraguay also moved up six places to 26th, while defeated semi-finalists Peru (25th, up 24) and Venezuela (40th, up 29) were the biggest movers in the top 100.

Furthermore, thanks to their outstanding results in the group stage, Chile (11th, up 16) are once again knocking on the door of the top ten.

After their impressive triumph in the CONCACAF Gold Cup the month before, Mexico’s exit from the Copa America without a single point has brought them back down to earth, costing them their place in the top ten and taking them down 11 places to 20th.

Despite also making an early exit from the Copa America, Brazil have gone up one place (4th, up 1), but still have ground to make up on the leading trio of Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.

The Caribbean nations of the Dominican Republic (132nd, up 40), the US Virgin Islands (149th, up 44), the Bahamas (152nd, up 45) and Aruba (168th, up 32) have all made an impression on the ranking after making a successful start to their qualifying campaigns for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

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