Philippine club football’s participation in AFC Club Competitions received a welcome boost after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) gave the Philippines 1 slot in the AFC Champions League play-off round and 2 direct slots for the AFC Cup group stages for years 2019 and 2020.
In awarding slots allocations to the Philippines for AFC Club Competitions for the next two years, AFC took into account the AFC Club Competitions Ranking as at 15 December 2017. The ranking points are computed based on the formula: 10% of National Team’s performance based on FIFA Ranking plus 90% of Club Teams’ performance in AFC Club Competitions.
With 21.405 ranking points, the Philippines is ranked 21st overall out of 46 AFC Member Associations.
Last year the Philippines was allotted 1 slot in the AFC Champions League preliminary round and AFC Cup group stage and 1 direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage.
Philippines Football League clubs Global Cebu FC, Kaya FC, and Ceres Negros FC had been the PFF’s representatives in AFC Club Competitions in the past 3 years. In 2018, Ceres Negros competed in both the AFC Champions League preliminary rounds and the AFC Cup group stage where they have qualified for the ASEAN zonal semi-finals, while Global Cebu was a direct participant in the AFC Cup group stages. Last year, Ceres Negros FC and Global Cebu FC were the club representatives in AFC club competitions.
PFF general secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes welcomed the new slot allocations for the Philippines. “Philippine club football is on a steady rise in the past few years,” said Gastanes. “For the latest ranking results, we thank the clubs that have been nominated by PFF to AFC club competitions in the past three years, namely Global Cebu FC, then Kaya FC, and Ceres Negros FC for their solid performances in AFC Club Competitions. This shows that Philippine football clubs can compete against the best football clubs in the region; hopefully they get to compete against the very best in Asia in the future.”
