Azkals to Compete on 2011 Long Teng Cup

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After putting up a gallant battle against the higher-seeded Kuwait Al-Azraq, the Philippine Azkals will again be plunging into football action when they face 3 foreign teams in the 2011 Long Teng Cup. “Yes, na-confirm na natin ang participation natin sa Long Teng Cup. The competition will take place sometime late September,” said Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President Mariano “Nonong” Araneta.

Araneta said the Azkals, who ended their campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Thursday, will battle teams from Hong Kong, Macau, and Chinese Taipei. The 4-team competition will take place in Chinese Taipei. The PFF president said the Azkals will take a 1-month break following their unsuccessful World Cup qualifier campaign.

“The team will again gather in the third week of August to begin their preparations,” said Araneta. The PFF is also arranging a 4-nation invitational in Manila, which will include southeast Asian football powerhouses Malaysia and Singapore.

Araneta, however, said they are still checking their calendar for this competition since they want to make sure that most of the Azkals players will be able to participate. “We’re still checking the dates with FIFA. Some of the players are suiting up for foreign clubs so we’ll make sure that the competition falls under the FIFA calendar. The clubs will be mandated to allow the players to participate,” he said.

Among the Azkals who are participating in foreign football leagues are Neil Etheridge of Fulham FC and Stephan Schrock of the SpVgg GreutherFürth club.

The Azkals is the 1st Philippine national football team to reach the 2nd round of the FIFA World Cup qualifying round.