THE Philippine Football Federation will elect new officers on Saturday that will chart the next path of the sport following a banner year.
A total of 36 regional football associations and three clubs will choose the next officers including the successor of Mariano ‘Nonong’ Araneta after 13 years on Saturday at The Bellevue in Muntinlupa City.
Araneta's momentous reign at PFF
Araneta took over the PFF presidency on an interim basis in 2010 after the controversial term of Mari Martinez. He was then elected the following year and has exhausted his two-term limit this year.
Stallion Laguna FC team owner Filiberto Alquiros, former Pachanga United owner John Anthony Gutierrez, and Davao South regional football association president Henry Sabate are running for the PFF’s top post.
The election comes on the heels of the Philippine women’s football team’s historic campaign in the Fifa Women’s World Cup where the Filipinas won a match against New Zealand.
It was also during the previous term where football saw a resurgence particularly during the Azkals’ landmark win over Vietnam in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.
Araneta's PFF legacy
More than the results on the pitch, however, Araneta hopes that the new president will also prioritize integrity during his term.
“For the next set of officers, they should love football, they should be passionate about football, and they should be transparent. I hope there wouldn’t be corruption,” said Araneta.
Philippine Azkals team manager Dan Palami thanked Araneta for taking football to the next level in the country.
“The journey of Mariano Araneta’s presidency of the PFF actually coincided with me taking over the national team,” said Palami. “We had that ‘Miracle of Hanoi’ that paved the way in the revamp of the leadership at the PFF.”
“The one thing that he leaves in the federation, and as a representative of the federation in Asia and Fifa, is the legacy of integrity, and honesty in his leadership. That has created credibility to the PFF and has allowed him to actually rise through the ranks in the AFC and FIFA that cascaded to PFF as far as the benefits and funding na nabigay niya,” said Palami, who incidentally will also seek one of the three posts as vice president to be contested as well by Jay Adriatico, Frael Aquino, Ismael Batiles Jr., Lawrence Fortun, and Rodney Orale.
Araneta played down his contributions to the sport over the years, including the latest feat of the Filipinas.
“For me, I’m just fortunate enough that I was there during this time. Hindi naman ako lang. There were a lot of people that helped. It was an effort from all stakeholders of football. I’m just fortunate that I was there during that time. Thank God that I was there,” said Araneta.
Araneta will be staying as member of the Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation Council Board, as well as the Asean Football Federation vice president until 2027.
“I’ll still help Philippine football,” said Araneta, who was also the chef de mission of Team Philippines in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Also to be contested is one female member, and four members each from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
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