MANILA (4 March 2011) – The Philippines Football Federation (PFF) will be using the national Under-23 championship sponsored by motoring giant Suzuki to pick players for the SEA Games which will be held in Jakarta at the end of the year.
This was confirmed by PFF president Mariano Araneta who also said that the competition will run from March till May this year.
“The best players in the tournament will make it to the national team, which will compete in the 26th SEA Games in November in Indonesia,” said Araneta.
In as far as the rules and regulations of the tournament, they will be adapting those of the AFF (Asean Football Federation), wherein each team will play on a home-and-away series.
There will be a total of 8 teams— 2 each from the country’s biggest islands and major region: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region.
In the elimination round, the 2 teams from each territory will compete for the right to represent their region in the semifinals.
The top 4 will battle their way to the finals.
Suzuki has been sponsoring the blue-riband AFF Football Championship since 2008.
