HAVING written a column for close to two decades in a community paper, I’ve always welcomed constructive criticisms in sports. I think it plays a vital role. However, lately, I’ve noticed the attacks against the Philippine Football Federation and its president John Gutierrez are getting way out of hand. It’s no longer constructive.
First, the broad sword corruption allegations that pop up, often posted by newly-created accounts. I’ve been away from the football beat for some time now but this I still know; like the president before him, Gutierrez is required to disclose the financial status of the association during its annual congress.
If there is financial impropriety involved, we would have heard specifics by now. It’s not 2005 anymore, the last time I snuck into a PFF congress by pretending to be a waiter of the hotel it was held. Then, the regional associations accepted hook, line, and sinker that the PFF was in the red despite the millions coming in from the AFF and AFC.
Those were the days of creative accounting and when financial assistance were deposited to the personal accounts of FA presidents.
The “Gutierrez is corrupt” sentiment was also raised when it was announced that the Philippines withdrew from the U20 qualifiers. The Nonong Araneta admin didn’t also join all youth qualifiers, which is understandable. I think it’s a waste of resources also. Besides, we have the Asian Games this year, the AFF Championships, and then there’s the Fifa Women’s World Cup next year. The PFF should be prudent with its finances when it comes to national teams. Is skipping international youth tournaments proof of corruption? NO!
I admit, I had no idea who John Gutierrez was when he announced that he was running for president but one thing that he has done that I admire greatly is his move to have more football facilities up all over the country.
We may be one of the better teams in the AFF but we are at the bottom, or near the bottom when it comes to facilities. That’s something that wasn’t a priority in previous admins.
It’s the old cliche, to get that one-in-a-million player, we need to have a million players. And to get a million players, we need lots and lots of football pitches. I mean, consider Cebu province for example, for a football hotbed, I can’t think of one, ONE, free facility that is open to the public.
And outside of Metro Cebu, I think you can count the number of pitches on one hand. That’s how bad the situation is.
Overlooked also in the “let’s all hate John Gutierrez” bandwagon, is the continuation of Nonong Araneta’s program of holding a series of seminars for coaches and referees.
Again, if we want football to grow in the country, we need competent more refs and coaches. And that is what the current PFF president is addressing.
If you want your voices to be heard, keep your criticisms constructive.
Case in point. There was this one guy who posted that “people like him who truly love football” are more qualified to elect the next PFF president, not the RFA president.
Well, how does one become an RFA president?
It’s a very long process. First, you have to belong to a club. You have to develop a good reputation in the club that your fellow club members trust you enough to represent the club in the RFA election. And of course, the other clubs must also trust you enough to earn their votes. That’s not an overnight process, heck four or five years aren’t even enough for someone to gain the trust of the local football community. The local football communities aren’t stupid. They’d spot a person out to exploit the game; so, who usually gets elected? People known to shell out from their own pocket to support the community.
So between an anonymous noisy fan on social media and an RFA president? Who deserves the right to choose the next PFF president? I think the RFA presidents have earned THAT right.