PFF urges Azkals fans to watch live with 'Stand Your Ground' campaign

The Philippine Football Federation urged fans to fill the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila when the Philippine Azkals compete against Vietnam and Indonesia this November.

The football body launched in October the 'Stand Your Ground: 10K Strong' campaign which aims to fill the 12,873-seater stadium.

The Azkals will go against Vietnam on November 16 while they will face Indonesia on the 21st in the joint 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

Aside from the said countries, the Azkals is also grouped with Iraq in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.

“The fans have always played a vital role behind the success of the Men’s National Team,” PFF president Mariano Araneta said in a statement.

“As the Azkals embark on another historic World Cup qualifiers campaign, our objective is to make them feel the support of the fans. Let us rally behind our team and show that we can pack Rizal Memorial Stadium. Let us stand our ground for our team and for our country.”

PFF general secretary Coco Torre is also optimistic that the Azkals will end a banner year in Philippine football as the Filipinas made history in the FIFA Women's World Cup.

“We want to finish the year strong,” said Torre. “Our Filipinas did an amazing job in New Zealand and now it’s the Azkals’ turn to play at home.”

After the November window, the Azkals will play Iraq on March 26, 2024. Only the top two teams from the group will advance to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and will book tickets to the Asian Cup.

Prior to this, the Azkals last played in an international friendly against Bahrain last October where they lost, 1-0. In September, the Azkals won at home against Afghanistan in a friendly, 2-1.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News