UFL: The Santi Araneta sit-down - a Q&A with the owner of Kaya FC

Santiago Araneta describes himself as a "big football fan." That might be a bit of an understatement.   The CEO of LBC also serves as chairman of the United Football League, and the owner of his own club, Kaya FC, which recently finished second behind Global FC, with goal differentials being needed to break the tie between the two teams. With the 2011-12 season of the UFL over, Araneta graciously gave Roy Moore a few moments of his time to go over some questions about the beautiful game. Roy Moore: Philippine football has grown so quickly. What do you think are the main reasons for the growth of football here? What can be done to maintain that success? Santi Araneta: I would have to say that the Azkals have definitely helped in popularizing football in our country.  However, in order for us to sustain this interest in the long haul and for the continued growth of the sport in the country, a local premier league and a solid grassroots program is vital.  Club football is a good base for the continuity of its success. This is a proven formula all over the world. RM: Obviously the Azkals are a major part of the growing interest in football and now they’re at their highest FIFA ranking ever. What’s the secret to their success? SA:  I believe that we have underestimated how fit we Filipinos are to the sport of football. Over the last couple of decades, the migration of Filipinos overseas exposed more of us to quality football and quickly produced world-class players. Now that the UFL is in place...it has allowed that experience to reach our own backyard, which not only exposes every Filipino to the beautiful game but also gives them the opportunity to live it. RM: After the Azkals finished third in the Challenge Cup, you and Craig Burrows [the Englishman who manages to Philippines’ Street Child Word Cup team] jumped into a fountain to celebrate. Please tell us about that time and have you always been so passionate about football? SA: For starters this is the most prestigious international tournament [where] our National Team has been able to take home a podium finish. Craig and I knew this was just the start of many more firsts for Philippine football and thought it would be a good tradition to start. I have always been passionate about football. I guess the difference is that now I can celebrate the victories of my country and hope that the Azkals give us all a chance to jump into more fountains. RM: The UFL is growing very quickly too and has become the major domestic league in the Philippines after just three seasons. Whose idea was it to form a league in the Philippines and why? What were the major challenges to initially setting up the league? SA: The UFL has actually been around since 2003.  It wasn’t as prominent then as it is now. The Football Alliance, which is composed of Mike Camahort, Antonio Longa, Phillip Hagedorn, Christopher Hagedorn, Javier Mantecon, Monchu Garcia, Randy Roxas and myself closed a deal with the UFCA [United Football Clubs Association] and took over the management of the UFL. It’s funny but Football Alliance all started with us football fanatics having a couple of meetings that produced some crazy ideas. I say crazy because when we came up with the idea of professionalizing a football league everyone thought we were crazy. One of our major challenges was to come up with a common goal. Eventually we all agreed the goal was to create a league that would produce clubs which can represent the Philippines and win the AFC Cup. RM: Will there be changes in the number of teams, in how many teams get promoted or relegated and when, if ever, would a third division be added? SA: We do not expect the number of clubs to increase for at least another year. There is a plan to adjust the number of clubs getting relegated and promoted to keep the standings more interesting and keep the competition levels up until the last games. The FA [Football Association] doesn't have any plans of setting up a third division at the moment.  However, we strongly encourage UFL clubs to set up their own academies which they can field in the upcoming 2013 Youth Football League, which will cover the Under-19 level and younger.   RM: The league continues to grow and more and more teams are joining and vying for places. How do you see the UFL growing in the next few seasons? SA: Growth is something that is as certain as the sun will rise tomorrow. What's important is to improve or enhance the quality of the clubs, to be as professional as other foreign clubs. Additionally, we have to work on refining the UFL technical team. We need to invest heavily in referee training and international exposure. RM: There have been schedule conflicts between the Azkals and UFL this year with the growing number of fixtures. How have these problems been handled and how will it be dealt with for next season, especially considering that many of Kaya’s players are also Azkals? SA: We all know we owe the success and popularity of football to the Azkals and that is why you see us moving heaven and earth to accommodate the national team schedules. However, I believe that in order to maintain and increase the quality pool of football talent in the country, the national team is [has to be more] dependent on the UFL. Foreign clubs will not be as receptive to releasing players and foreign leagues will certainly not care about adjusting schedules for our national team as much as we will. The UFL will always do its best to release players or adjust schedules for official national games with much more leeway than FIFA requires. RM: The league is still very young and congratulations on its huge growth already. Some fans are talking about inconsistent refereeing though, and some players’ violent acts on the pitch result in joking that the UFL is more like the UFC. What’s the plan from the UFL to deal with the level of the officials and do players also need to play their part? SA: Although we do meet with the referees outside of the game, what fans have to understand is that the UFL does not have direct control over our referees.  They are all under the NCRFA [National Capital Region Football Association] and the PFF [Philippine Football Federation]. Having said that, we are currently preparing a program for the referees for next season. We will invest in them and bring up the standards, and start to train them during the off-season. This has gone neglected for too long.  The quality of officiating goes hand-in-hand with maturity of our players and our coaches. With regards to violence on the pitch, I personally have zero tolerance for that type of behavior.  Having been a player back in the day, I know what these players go through with all the pressure and sometimes it’s hard to control those emotions.  But having said that, there is still no excuse for violence on the pitch from the players or the officials.  The UFL has, for the first time in Philippine football, taken firm action on players, officials and teams and have penalized them. We will continue to impose these penalties. We do not take violence lightly.   RM: How will you be looking to build for next season with your team, Kaya FC? Any particular players you’re looking to sign and which players are looking promising for the future? SA: I am very happy with my team despite falling a little short and not winning the championship. We will certainly sign up some new faces. In Kaya, we are looking for players that can gel well with our style of play. We are also looking to professionalize the club even further by bringing in more technical experts. RM: The football community were quick to respond to help the victims of Typhoon Sendong with the Azkals match Dili Kamo Nag-Iisa. Even your company, LBC, shipped off the donated goods to the affected areas for free. Football has the power to really bring people together. With Cebu Queen City joining the second division, do you think more clubs from outside Manila will join until the league is a fully National league? SA: I believe that it is inevitable that more provincial teams will be joining the UFL.  Football hot beds like Bacolod and Iloilo are taking a back seat. They should look into following the lead of their neighbor, Queen City and create their own football team and compete in the UFL.   RM: Is there anything else you’d like to share with football fans? SA: First and foremost I would like to thank all the football supporters as without them football will not be where it is today. Second, we promise to continue to invest in the sport we love most. We are committed to uniting our country thru football, and creating more opportunities for the sport to bring us pride and glory. Philippine football is here to stay! - AMD, GMA News