A football field dedicated to Iloilo-born football legend Paulino Alcántara is currently being built along Circumferential Road in Pavia’s Barangay Pandac.
The 1.5-hectare football stadium, which will also be known as Paulino Alcántara Heritage Football Stadium, will be constructed in accordance to international standards and will be used for hosting international football events.
“The goal is to have Campo Alcántara host international football tournaments sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation and FIFA,” said Noel Cariño, chairman for NCORE Realty and Associates Inc., the marketing arm for Mercado Central, which is the development where the facility will be located. “We are also working to develop some, sort of, sisterhood with FC Barcelona in order to form coordinated events and shared sporting culture with them and, perhaps, eventually earn grants to sponsor some of our deserving local youth who want to play professionally.”
Alcántara played for FC Barcelona in the early 20th century. Considered Barça’s “first star player,” he amassed a total 369 goals in 357 matches in his career with the Catalan club—an average of one goal per match./ASC, WDJ