THE Philippine Football Federation, desperate to justify its ill-conceived move to prevent Venice Furio from interviewing its players, just dug itself into a deeper hole.
Furio is a veteran football chronicler whose podcast, Futbol Brew, is popular among the sport’s enthusiasts. Apparently, she was given the brush-off by PFF officials after she published something that displeased them.
“Certain individuals took issue with some of my online posts,” she says. They told Furio that contact with the women players was “a privilege” that was theirs to give or deny. And from there, she adds, “My access to the players is revoked.”
COLUMN: PFF officials' hostility toward mediamen is uncalled for
Furio said she was also told that “just as I have the right to share my opinions online, they have the right to limit my access to the team.”
The PFF, instead of withdrawing the order when this became public, doubled down on its aggression against media. From its perch, it perorated that the move to stop journalists from interviewing the Philippine Women’s National Team, aka Filipinas, was made by coaches to protect players from “distractions” as they prepared for their upcoming games.
In a statement (note: the 'distracting media' helped get its message out), the PFF said: “The team’s coaching staff has emphasized the necessity of minimizing distractions during training periods to optimize performance and maintain focus.
“This is particularly crucial as the team prepares for significant competitions, including the upcoming AFF Championships and the Southeast Asian Games. The coaching staff believes that dedicated training and recovery time are essential for the team’s success. This is a standard practice in high-performance sports environments globally.”
READ PFF denies banning journalist from Filipinas training camp
Well, let me just say that the loftiest excuses can conceal the darkest intents.
Let’s take this slow. First, let it be said that the PFF, led by its president John Gutierrez, is living in a world of fantasy or ignorance or both. It certainly sounds ignorant of the real capacities of the national team and it clearly lives under the fantasy that Filipinas is more than it presently is.
Make no mistake, I believe that Filipinas is a squad of dedicated, hard-playing, no-nonsense players who give everything they’ve got on that field. One might even say they leave nothing for themselves to get that win.
But it’s best to remind the PFF that Filipinas is still at a stage where its international standing and brand of play are a work in progress. The last thing the PFF should do is delude itself into thinking the team will win the Women’s World Cup anytime now.
I will be surprised, but happy, should our women’s team win the AFF Championships or the Southeast Asian Games gold. Those are months away. But the PFF acts as though the matches are days away and the team needs isolating so that it is totally undistracted.
But because the PFF sounds like it isn’t aware of the dynamics and journey of a team, it’s best to inform the federation that a few hours of interaction with the press are not likely to change the way the team is playing now or even in the near future.
These women are here for an intra-squad match, they’re here to inaugurate a new football field, they’re here to meet up with long-lost relatives, and they may even be here looking forward to a swim in Boracay.
Yet here is the PFF treating the players as though they were world beaters and fast preparing to engage in a game with global implications.
Onion-skinned
The press, let it be said, would like to meet and interview the women as this is a chance for women’s football to get every exposure it can manage.
Football needs warm bodies to cheer when players compete, football needs financial backers for the team to meet its needs, football needs to introduce its players to fans if it wants to grow a community that will personally root for its favorites.
The press can do that for football.
But the onion-skinned people at the PFF think they are some version of Trump and can do anything they want, even if it means harming the game.
What the PFF should do is apologize, say it is not infringing on freedom of the press, and bring in the media in an all-out promotion of the team’s activities.
Or go one step further. Treat the guys they just insulted to a dinner and a few bottles of beer, and promise them that, henceforth, they shall work together for football, the world’s most popular sport, and establish its firm traction in the country.
PFF can learn from NBA example
In simple terms, the PFF should stop treating the press like adversaries. The press is a partner at making the sport better and more accessible to the masses, which other sports organizations have learned is the best way to promote and recruit and fund-raise.
The NBA, for instance, holds a media day before it opens the season, so that fans can be introduced to members of the teams, from coaches to star players. And throughout the season, it gives reporters and photographers access to the team.
Over here the PBA also conducts a media day and, similarly, players, coaches, and officials make themselves available to mediamen.
None of this distracts the players. Around the world, in fact, it is part of sports culture to have these natural interactions between teams and media.
PFF officials need mentoring on this relationship. To go one step further, the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission should summon Gutierrez and his cohort and ask them why the antagonism.
The earlier this matter is cleared, the better for women’s football.
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