A breath of fresh air has resounded after Global FC’s press conference held at the Makati Diamond Residences as Mark Jarvis gladly announced several changes to the structure of Global Cebu FC heading into the first season of the Philippine Premier League.
Following the footsteps of changes made by the current league organizers, Jarvis tied up with MMC Sportz Asia Inc. through Mr. Eric Gottschalk, the company’s Chief Executive Officer to bring massive changes to the club which involves its move to the business capital of the country and former home of Kaya FC-Iloilo, Makati City.
“The new format of the professional league and its conscious approach to ensure that it becomes financially sustainable has required many teams to move back to the capital. We would, therefore, like to thank the Province of Cebu for its hospitality and support extended to Global Cebu but unfortunately, we have decided to relocate the Team to Manila to manage our high travel expenses,” said by Jarvis through his official press release.
Furthermore, they will now be known as United Makati FC. “Triggered by a recent fan survey, we also decided to change the name of the Club, which is very much in line with our commitment to the City of Makati,” discussed by Jarvis regarding the major change in the club’s identity.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/2NePbEDbxV
— United Makati FC (@GlobalCebuFC) February 12, 2019
When asked about what makes their effort to tie up with the city government better than what Kaya FC previously had, Jarvis said “We will not divert from our path to invest into the development of young talents from all over the Philippines and to give them a pathway to play professional football in our first team. Our own high-performance youth academy will provide an ideal platform for local talent to grow but it we will also offer a community program for the Makati Youth to get introduced to football.”
Though we’ve seen the club move forward after a disappointing 2018, the club has still yet to give more details on how things are being resolved regarding the issue of the players’ and staff’s salaries. Jarvis opened up the press conference by saying “We’re here to talk about 2019. I’ll briefly go through the issues of 2018 upfront but I won’t accept any questions afterwards.”
He then followed by saying, “Yes, we’ve had a lot of bad press. It’s been around Facebook and most of you have written about it. It’s been a tough couple of months but we are addressing all the issues with all the players, past and present. The issues, we are aiming to have closed out before kick-off this year. So, we are planning part-payments over the next two months in waves to pay the players off just to make sure we can go into 2019 with a very clear, positive look.”
According to the Jarvis as well, the reason behind the club’s delayed payments was because of the sponsors who haven’t completed their dues with the club as of press time. Still, they ‘ve shown efforts to make sure the players get paid before the new season starts or else they won’t be able to participate in the PPL due to non-compliance.
With the club moving on with a new look and new name of the club, it aims to “unite” the fans who have the passion for the sport and to create a new centre of excellence in Philippine Football in Makati. The idea behind the club’s new crest seems to be well-crafted and tailored with the city’s identity.
It boasts a football behind the sprawling buildings of the business district as well as the 33 rays of sun that represent the number of barangays of Makati. United Makati FC also kept its predecessor’s history by putting three stars at the top of their crest that represents their three national championships.
Despite many unanswered questions, Jarvis, Gottschalk and the rest of United Makati FC are moving towards a different direction, hopefully away from controversy and towards success. The club has yet to announce their recent signings and current squad list. It is expected to be released within the next two weeks.
What’s certain as of the moment is that Stevic Rankovic, who signed as the club’s gaffer late last year, will still be in charge of the team come the new season. The players are yet to see some action in training with Rankovic which will be scheduled sometime next week.
