Philippines football club Stallion FC and the National Men’s Team of Maldives are set to play an international friendly match (tier 2) tomorrow, 29 August 2015 at 5:00 pm at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. Representatives of the two teams attended the Match Coordination Meeting (1:00 pm) and pre-match Press Conference (11:30 am) today at the Century Park Hotel in Manila.
Philippine Football Federation General Secretary Ed Gastanes welcomed the Maldives team which will be in Manila for a training camp in preparation for their 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match against China PR on September 8 in China. The team is scheduled to play 2 friendly matches, the first against Stallion FC on August 29, and the second against the Philippines National Men’s Team on September 3. Both matches will be played at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The two international matches have been authorised by the AFC (tier 2 match on 29 August) and FIFA and AFC (tier 1 match on 03 September).
The Philippines previously played Maldives in the semi-finals of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in 2014. According to Maldives Coach Ismail Mahfooz, however, this year’s Maldives team will be composed of new and several under-23 players standouts. Stallion FC Head Coach Ernie Nierras thanked PFF for the opportunity and stated that his club as usual will give its best and offer Maldives team a good challenge.
