The PFF National Training Center or the National Football Center is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

ground at the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park in Carmona,

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

History

Plans to construct a football facility in Carmona,

were announced as early as June 2014. The

Philippine Football Federation The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in the Philippines. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in ...

signed a lease agreement for rights to land occupying an area of to build a training center, initially known as the National Teams Training Center, to be built under the $500 thousand

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Goal Project 3. The groundbreaking ceremony for the facility located within the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park of the

Manila Jockey Club The Manila Jockey Club, Inc. (MJC) is a horse racing institution in the Philippines. One of the oldest race clubs in the Asia-Pacific region, the club was established in 1867 in Manila and is based in Carmona, Cavite. It is also a member of the Asi ...

was held on 30 November 2014 and was led by then FIFA President

Sepp Blatter Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of ...

. It was projected to be complete by 2015 but the facility was inaugurated two years later. The facility was formally inaugurated on 9 September 2017 which included the turnover ceremony of its main field, the FIFA Football Turf. After the launch the first two football matches were held in field. The first women's football match held in the field was a friendly between the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

and the

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

while the first men's football match was an official

Ang Liga Ang Liga () is an inter-collegiate football tournament based in the Philippines. It serves as a pre-season tourney for competing football varsity teams from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), UAAP and other similar collegiate le ...

pre-season match between the

San Beda College es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

and the

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

. The former secured a 3–0 win over the latter. On the same day the groundbreaking ceremony for a new PFF House of Football within the center was made.

FIFA Football Turf

The training center hosts an international-sized

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

, the FIFA Football Turf which is accredited with a FIFA two-star field rating. The pitch of the artificial pitch was by United States firm, ATC Global and has a dimension of 105 x 68 m (344 x 223 ft). Upon its inauguration the seating capacity of the FIFA Football Turf is about 1,000 to 1,200. Earlier in 2014, plans of a viewing area of about 20,000 to 30,000 capacity was reported. Lighting towers with an intensity of 900 lux is planned to be installed by the end of 2018. There are plans to convert the pitch into a stadium.

Other pitches

Two miniature artificial turfs measuring will be installed beside the main football pitch which are meant for recreation use and hosting of festival competitions. Likewise the grass area in the middle of the Manila Jockey Club's racetrack is also planned to be converted into a football field.

Use

The facility is planned to serve as the training ground of both the men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

national football teams of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Both senior and youth teams utilize the facility. Within September 2017, the Youth Football League plans to hold their matches at the center. The center hosted matches of the second round of the 2017 PFF Women's League. The women's national team used the venue in March 2018 as part of their preparation for their 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup stint.

Ownership

The Manila Jockey Club leases the land to the Philippine Football Federation, as secondary ground to

Rizal Memorial Stadium The Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium (simply known as the Rizal Memorial Stadium; officially the Simeon Toribio Track Stadium) is the main stadium of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. It served as the main stadi ...

. The PFF has leasing rights to the land which is valid until 2039.

References

{{National Football Centres Football venues in the Philippines Association football training grounds in the Philippines Sports complexes in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Cavite National football academies

History

FIFA Football Turf

Other pitches

Use

Ownership

See also

References