THE Philippine Football Federation (PFF) plans to send homegrown players to the birthplace of soccer to prepare for the country’s next big tournament.

PFF president Jose Mari Martinez said initial plans after its laudable showing in the recent Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup qualifiers include sending at least six homegrown players to England to train for the top-tier Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Cup qualifiers set in October in Cambodia.

“We hope we could send them there a month before the tournament, then head straight to Cambodia. We are doing this to make the best team possible,” said Martinez.

One of the homegrown talents who have made a mark is team captain Emelio Caligodong, who scored a goal in the qualfiers.

Martinez said there are also plans to hire more players with Filipino blood from England, Germany and Spain.

“We received some inquiries from people who have seen players who want to help and support the team. We are open to them because they are also Filipinos,” said Martinez.

The RP booters were unbeaten in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Iloilo, but failed to advance to the tournament proper because Tajikistan had a superior goal difference.

“We will do everything to have the best possible team. We have shown that we can play in the Asian level,” said Martinez.

Fil-Britons James and Phil Younghusband, and Chad Gould, meanwhile, expressed disappointment with the result but according to them, the performance was the start of something good for Philippine football.  

In an interview, all players were optimistic about the country’s chances in future international competitions.

“We played very good but we did not qualify due to goal difference. Still, this is the start of bigger things for football here,” James said in a phone interview.

“This is a good way to push the sport [in the country] since football isn’t very big here,” said Phil.

Gould, who had played for the national team since the 2004 Tiger Cup, said that he is definitely seeing a big improvement in the team since he started wearing the national colors.

“The improvement is very massive. We are making strides. Hopefully, we could get more talents from the grassroots level,” said Gould.

The Younghusband brothers will stay in the country until July, while Gould will remain in the country until June before returning to England.

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