Loyola
Meralco Sparks to compete in Singapore Cup
by rick
olivares
The Loyola Meralco
Sparks will be competing in the prestigious Singapore Cup that kicks off this
May 14, 2012 in Singapore. The Football Association of Singapore extended the
invitation to the Sparks after they topped the first round of the United
Football League.
It was only in
recent years where foreign clubs were invited to participate. Thai clubs have
done well in the competition with Bangkok Glass FC beating Tampines Rovers 1-0
in 2010.
The Singapore Cup is
a four-stage tournament with the preliminary round a single leg competition
from May 14-21. Should Loyola win its preliminary round match and qualify for
the two-legged quarterfinals, the team will be required to return to Singapore
to play both legs. Should the club make it to the semifinals, the same will
apply. The final will be played on Sunday, October 28, 2012.
The Singapore Cup
champion will receive Singapore $80,000 while the first, second, and third
runners-up will receive $40,000, $20,000., and $10,000 respectively.
Losing quarterfinalists
will each receive $4,000 and the preliminary round losers $2,000.
The Football
Association of Singapore has sent the official invitation to the Philippine
Football Federation for endorsement.
“This is a big step
for not just Loyola but also for the UFL and Philippine football in general
because this is the first time a Philippine team is being invited to this
tournament,” said the Sparks’ president Randy Roxas. “We hope to do well in
this competition because it validates what the UFL has been trying to do –
professionalize Philippine football.”
The tournament rules
state that clubs may only list four foreigners in their lineup.
wow! winning this tournament is an automatic inclusion in the 2012 AFC Cup! woot! if loyola wins this this will be huge!
ReplyDeleteplus the 2012 AFC president's cup for the 2011-2012 UFL div1 champs!
Problem is, the Philippines is still categorized as an "emerging nation" by the AFC, and FIFA still doesn't yet recognize the UFL as a top-flight league. Therefore, even if Loyola wins the competition, they would still be ineligible for the AFC Cup due to the nation's status.
DeleteHope to watch them, will be there by May :)
ReplyDeleteMe too!!!!! hope i can watch their game!!! sold out yan for sure with all the pinoy supporters there. this is so exciting!! pls give us details. what an opportunity to be invited to this tournament. All the best for the Loyola Meralco Sparks:))
ReplyDeleteforeign teams will not participate in AFC Cup if they win the singapore cup.
ReplyDeletefirst for the philippines, hope the lads can do well in the said tournament and 'course make the pinoys proud. Ole for Loyola Meralco Sparks FC
ReplyDeleteAyusin nio ang mga comment nio pinagtatawanan kayo ng ibang Singaporean. ha ha . Sabagay 4/20 nga pala ngayon. Baka high kayo sa MArijuana
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there! hahaha
Deletewoot! Good job first commenter! GIYF jackhole.
ReplyDeleteBa't naman tayo pagtatawanan ng mga Singaporean. Ano ba pinagmamalaki nila, yung National team at Football clubs nila na tadtad ng Naturalized Imports? LOL
ReplyDeleteExactly.
DeleteSome are LOL on our comments kasi kahit sa international football community sumisikat ang ignorance natin.
Deletehttp://kallangroar.com/showthread.php/6673-Singapore-Cup-2012/page3
Well at least, their infrastructure is excellent. They have nice pitches, they have a decent S-League and have a nice football reality show "First XI" LOL. Mas mataas pa rin level nila haha, so we should learn to respect kasi we are still considered pretenders. Wala pa tayong achievement na astig, so don't be boastful. They won the ASEAN Cup three times already.
DeleteIn fairness, forumers there are more knowledgeable and wise enough to sense that the reason why LMS was brought there is not because of their skills, but as a potential cash cow...
ReplyDeleteI hope the Azkals will shape up from now on. The Volcanoes were able to get the job done without any any fanfare. Walang ka porma-porma at walang negative issues. Class act all the way. Maybe some Azkals should learn from them.
ReplyDeleteiba ang rugby kaysa sa football walang point of comparison between the two teams, Emerging palang ang football ang almost all nations na katabi natin yan ang strongest sport nila pwera lang sa China na magaling talaga sa basketball. Fil-Americans ang halos bumubuo sa volcanoes, and everybody knows napakagaling at napakalakas ng USA sa ganyang sport.
ReplyDeletethey're not really part-americans (maybe some of them) but they're mostly fil-aussies and fil-brits dude..
Delete