Rizal Memorial Stadium renovations in full swing

4 January 2019

Huge renovations are underway this year for the Rizal Memorial Stadium – Manila's main football turf – as the Philippines hosts the 2019 Southeast Asian Games starting November 30.

Rizal Memorial has been listed as the main venue of the men's football event, but it does not meet the stadium regulations of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

"[The Philippine Sports Commission has to] improve the stands and conform to AFC regulations. Starting 2019, you cannot use a stadium without any individual seats," said Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano "Nonong" V. Araneta in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas.

"When we played in our last game [against] Tajikistan, we were only allowed to sell tickets for the grandstand side, but not the other side because there was no individual seating. That’s the reality of football now – the venues have to conform to standards."

 

Source: rappler.com