Ben Madilynn
THE Cebu Football Club (CFC) Gentle Giants will hold their first home game of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium (RMS) in Manila.
The Gentle Giants will go up against South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC, a two-time ACL champion.
This will be the second time the Gentle Giants will hold their home games in a continental competition in Manila instead of Cebu due to the lack of a football venue that meets AFC standards.
The club attempted to bring its ACL Two home games to Cebu, responding to the requests of the Cebu football community and as a gesture of gratitude to the Cebuanos for their continuous support by nominating the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) as its home venue. The CCSC also hosted friendly matches of the Philippine Men’s National Team and the AFC President’s Cup in the past.
However, it did not pass the AFC inspection conducted last August. As a result, the Gentle Giants will have to play their ACL Two home games at the RMS again.
Last year, the CFC also played its home games for the AFC Cup at the RMS due to lack of a facility in Cebu, as its home pitch at the Dynamic Herb (DH) Borromeo Sports Complex is also not up to AFC standards.
Dynamic Herb Cebu FC CEO and general manager Ugur Tasci urged the Cebu private sector and the Cebu City Government to assist him in making the DH stadium an AFC-standard venue.
“We have the turf, I hope the private sector and the government can help, even if it is just adding the bleachers, just that the rest I can do,” Tasci said.
The biggest work needed in making DH an AFC-standard venue is its seating capacity.
According to the AFC Stadia Regulations for AFC Champions League, a stadium must have a minimum capacity of 5,000 seats, while the DH stadium can only accommodate 900 spectators comfortably.
Since the RMS is also scheduled for renovation, the venue for the Gentle Giants’ two other home games still awaits confirmation. / PR
