AFC slaps PFF $10K penalty

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has been sanctioned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after the Philippine Under-20 squad withdrew from the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

During its Disciplinary and Ethics Committee meeting on 5 November, the AFC fined the PFF $10,000 (approximately P631,000) for pulling out of the competition.

The Philippines will also be barred from participating in the 2029 U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers under Articles 6.1 and 6.2 of the 2027 U20 Asian Cup regulations, which stipulate sanctions for teams withdrawing without valid reasons.

The Philippines was originally scheduled to compete in Group A against Kyrgyzstan, South Korea and Lebanon, with matches set to begin on 31 August.

However, the Filipinos withdrew from the tournament just 35 days before the competition without publicly providing a reason.

DAILY TRIBUNE sought comment from the PFF, but the federation had yet to respond at press time.

The PFF has also not issued an official statement explaining its decision to withdraw from the qualifiers.