The Azkals to play Icheon Citizen FC. Q&A with Charles Williams

The Philippine Men’s Football National Team will be playing a second exhibition match on January 21, 2012. Here’s an interview with one of the key figures behind the match, Charles Williams of Dragon Promotions.

Rick Olivares: Can you provide us with information regarding the match between the Philippine Men’s Football National Team and the visiting Korean team? Why so close to the Typhoon Sendong football match?

Charles Williams: The date is 100% set for Jan 21, 2012. The date suggestion came direct from Mr. Dan Palami, the team manager of the Azkals. It turned out that the Korean team was also available on that date, so January 21 was given a go signal.

This is a benefit game and the South Korean football players are coming to help. So we believe that all Filipinos should be united since we are doing this for Typhoon Sendong victims.  Also, it's an opportunity for Koreans living in Philippines to join and support the cause as well as the sport which is growing by leaps and bounds in the Philippines. The Vice President of ABS-CBN Sports Peter Musngi and I placed high importance on making this a benefit game with a chance to involve the Korean communities in the Philippines, which could help the afflicted families in Cagayan de Oro and impact culturally the future of Filipino/Korean ties. 

This would also serve as a great tune up for the Azkals for the AFC Challenge Cup which will be held in Nepal in March 2012. 

It will also be the first time the Azkals to face a South Korean team and it just gives them more international experiences to make them stronger. The more opportunities Azkals get at tough opponents, the better they will be able to rise amongst their current rivals. This is crucial as an important factor for the growth of football in Philippines.

So on many different levels, the Philippines vs. Korea Match is more than just a "friendly" categorized game.

Rick Olivares: Would you have information on the Korean team that would be playing so we can write about the team coming over?

Charles Williams: The team is called the Icheon Citizen FC, and they are the division champions in Korea's league system. They have a mixture of strong rookie and seasoned professional players on the team. It will be a very challenging game for the Azkals.

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Information about Icheon Citizen:

Icheon Citizen plays in the third tier (16-team Challengers League) of the South Korean league system. They play in the Icheon City Stadium that seats 25,000 people. The club was formed in 2009 and where they finished fifth in place, their highest finish to date, in their maiden year.