Negros  Oriental  is  one  of  the top  producers  of  best  football  players  in  the country, development officer  Edward  Magallona of  the Philippine  Football Federation said Saturday, at the inauguration of the High Performance  Football Training Center at Silliman University in Barangay Daro, Dumaguete City.

He  said  the province has an edge  over  the  other areas based  on  the  performance  and  ability of  the  players  who have earned  a name  in  international football history.

With Magallona at the opening ceremony were provincial sports coordinator Buddy Ravello, Dumaguete city administrator Dominador Dumalag and Negros Oriental Football Association president Dick Emperado.

The  PFF hopes to  open  20  football  training centers  all over  the  country  within  this  year. It has now 32 football associations  honing potential  caliber players  who will  represent  the  country  in  international  competitions, Magallona said.

Magallona  also handed  20  new  training  balls, land mark cones  and some  sets  of  training  uniforms to the province. He  provided  the coaches  with  sets  of  training  manuals  on   the latest   techniques  and  guide  in  training  and  competitions.

Magallona focused more  on  the  training of  coaches saying he considers them as the key  to producing  top  caliber  footballers and vowed to bring in more technical support and training for coaches.

The PFF, meanwhile, conducted  a  three -day  training  seminar with 36 coaches  from  Negros Oriental  starting January 17, and another for  referees  beginning January 16 .

Magallona said the PFF will  pay  the  salaries  of  the  coaches assigned  to the  center, but the agency is working on  the  support of  the  Philippine  Sports  Commission  for  a counterpart  funding.

Meanwhile, Dumalag  assured  the  NORFA  and  the PFF  that  the city will  provide  support  for  football  development. With the  presence  of excellent coaches, there  is  no  reason  why Negros  Oriental  cannot make  it to the  national  team, he added.*MA

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