Our Men head to the Philippines to take on FC Kaya Iloilo who are the reigning champions of the Philippines Football League.
They played 14 matches and won 13 of them, drawing the other one. Throughout the campaign they scored 85 goals and conceded just 5.
This is who they are.
History
FC Kaya were founded in 1996 and were initially based out of Makiti which is located in the heart of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
In their early years, the team didn’t have a proper Philippines league to play in so often were engaged in 7-aside tournaments which they did have varying success in.
Their first official campaign came with the founding of the United Football League in 2002 which saw them regarded as one of the best teams in the region and one of a few capable of taking on the “big three” sides in the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy sides.
In 2009 then were added to the proper edition of the United Football League which saw promotion and relegation for the first time. Kaya were placed in the first division and across the next few years they went from the upper regions of the table to finishing in the mid pack.
During the 2013 season, they were managed by Australian David Perkovic who now manages NWS Spirit in the NSW NPL, bizarrely located a stones throw away from Sydney FC’s training base.
In 2016 they qualified for the AFC Cup for the first time and their maiden match in the competition came against Kitchee from Hong Kong which was a 1-0 loss, however that campaign they found success with wins against New Radiant from the Maldives and Balestier Khalsa from Singapore. They became the first Filipino football side to win more than once in an international tournament.
In November of the same year. the Philippines Football League was founded and during the initial stages of this competition, they renamed themselves to FC Kaya Makati where they played majority of their matches out of. It wasn’t until 2018 that they moved to Iloilo where they are based now.
In the 2023/24 season, they won their first Philippines Football League title, which granted them admission to the AFC Champions League Group Stage for the first time.
Stadium
FC Kaya Iloilo are based out of the province of Iloilo which means that their stadium for this match is not their home ground.
Their league ground is the Iloilo Sports Complex which holds up to 7,000 seated spectators and also is part of a larger complex which has a swimming pool, running track, volleyball courts, tennis courts and badminton courts.
For AFC matches, they play out of Manila due to AFC restrictions on venue capabilities and this match will be played out of the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the centre of the capital.
It has a capacity of 12,880 people and was used as the main stadium of the 1956 Asian Games.
The Philippines national side play out of this stadium which has one covered grandstand and then seating that goes around the pitch which has no roof, plus a running track hugs the pitch throughout.
Current Season
FC Kaya are not currently in season with the Philippines football season running from mid April through to July and only approximately 15 rounds long.
In the previous season, they finished first behind Dynamic Herb Cebu and boasted the biggest away win in the league’s history, putting 14 unanswered goals past Manila Montet in June.
This was their second league title, follow on from their success the season prior.
In their first match in the AFC Champions League 2 they lost 3-0 to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan and last weekend played in the Shopee Cup which is a small tournament with teams across Asia and lost 7-0 to Buriram United who beat Central Coast Mariners in the AFC Champions League Elite this week.
Previous Meeting
Sydney FC and FC Kaya Iloilo have met once before, in AFC Champions League Preliminary Qualifying back in 2022 where on a wet and windy night at Jubilee Stadium they put five goals past the Filipino side.
A brace to Bobo and Adam Le Fondre added onto a first half Trent Buhagiar strike which sealed the Sky Blues’ passage into the 2022 edition of the competition after their play-off opponents in Changchun Yatai were unable to leave China.
Match Details
FC Kaya Iloilo v Sydney FC
AFC Champions League 2 Matchday Two
Thursday 3rd October 2024
Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines
Kick Off: 8:00pm AEST (6:00pm Local)
Broadcast Live: 10Play
Tickets: Click Here
