Stakeholders want prexy out of football federation

IF PHILIPPINE Football Federation (PFF) president Jose Mari Martinez gets kicked out of his seat next month, there will be a huge improvement in the status of football in the Philippines, according to Cebu Football Association president Richard Montayre.


Montayre believes that, with Martinez out of the picture, Philippine football will move forward and not stagnate, as what is happening to football currently in the country.


�The football programs will be implemented because a lot of the programs were not implemented,� Montayre told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.


Grassroots programs


Among the programs that Montayre was referring to were the grassroots programs, which include the elite teams and the Asian Football Confederation�s A27 program for the coaches.


Montayre also said the national tournament will also be revived if Martinez will be kicked out of office.


�The Elite teams will be continued. We will help the coaches in the A27 program and update their salaries. They haven�t received their salaries,� said Montayre. �The national tournament will be reinstated. When he (Martinez) started sitting (as president) there has been no national tournament.�

There haven�t been any national tournaments since Martinez was elected as president of the PFF in 2007.

Montayre said they will be having a PFF board of governors meeting, which will be attended by the 12 governors, next month. By then, they will be recommending the removal of Martinez.


New officers

After the recommendation, they will be electing a new president in the PFF congress that same month, which will be graced by the presidents of all 32 football associations in the Philippines.

Montayre said yesterday they still haven�t received Martinez�s resignation letter, thus, they will pursue their falsification case against him.

�We gave him an irrevocable letter of resignation and offered to stop the falsification case but it didn�t happen so we will pursue the case,� said Montayre.


Montayre and Dick Emperado, president of the Negros Oriental Football Federation, filed a falsification of public documents case against Martinez last Sept. 24 at the Office of the Prosecutor in Pasig City.


Montayre said more cases, at least five, will be filed against Martinez because of his refusal to step down as president of the PFF.

Sun Star Cebu