As negotiations for the new owner of Ceres-Negros FC continue, clubs playing for this year’s season of the Philippines Football League are gearing to return to their training sessions.
In support to the league, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has prepared the PFF National Training Center which will be the primary training venue of PFL clubs.
The PFF National Training Center is a 2-hectare facility inside the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park in Carmona, Cavite. The lot was leased to PFF by the Manila Jockey Club Inc. (MJCI), the PFF announced on its website yesterday.
The National Training Center consists of one FIFA-funded 105mx68m artificial turf and two 20mx40m mini artificial pitches funded by the AFC.
Aside from the PFL matches, the National Training Center also hosted games of PFF Women’s League and PFF U15 Boys National Championship, coaching and refereeing courses, and national teams’ training sessions.
Last year, the center also hosted the International Women’s Friendly Match between the Philippines and Macau.
“We thank FIFA and AFC for providing PFF the facilities needed to improve the PFF National Training Center,” said PFF president Mariano Araneta, Jr. “These developments in the facility are a great help to clubs and our own national teams in their training sessions”.
PFF undertakes to ensure that the training center complies with the infrastructure protocols set in the “PFF Operations Protocol on PFL”, such as mandatory temperature checks and health declaration prior to entry, sanitizing mats in the entry and exit areas, regular surface and equipment disinfection before and after each training session, availability of hand sanitizers at key areas, mandatory wearing of face masks when not training in the pitch, and physical distancing.
PFF is set to make the training center a “bubble” to prevent or minimize COVID-19 virus transmission, not only during club training but during actual league matches once approval is granted.*
