UCFC craves for training
It’s the start of what we might call a new chapter but we still have a long way to go
United City FC (UCFC) raised the need for training in preparation for the group stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in April.
UCFC team owner Eric Gottschalk said they have to roll out their training program as soon as possible as they want to come up with an impressive finish in their first-ever stint in the prestigious continental tournament.
Gottschalk said clubs from other countries are already preparing so they have to find a way to restart their training amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have this tremendous pressure to go out and train. This puts us at a big disadvantage compared to other teams who are already training for the Champions League,” Gottschalk told Daily Tribune in a telephone conversation.
After winning its fourth consecutive Philippine Football League title last season, United UCFC is coming in as one of the favorites in this tourney that would be held inside a centralized bubble setup.
UCFC is bunched in Group I together with Japan Football League champion Kawasaki Frontale, Chinese Super League powerhouse Beijing Guoan, and the playoff winner between Daegu FC of Korea and Chiangrai United of Thailand.
“Every player is training on his own. They are trying to be fit as much as possible,” Gottschalk said.
“But, of course, individual training will not compensate for proper team practices.”
Still, Gottschalk is optimistic that the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) would soon give them the go-signal to enter the pitch and train as a team.
“As of the moment, we cannot do anything.
We are still waiting for
“We are not worried about firepower in the AFC, we are only worrying about the training schedule. We have already lined up replacements and we are trying to strengthen our side by putting younger players in the team.”
Wellington, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand has launched its Covid-19 vaccination program on Saturday but warned the initial rollout was only a small step in the long battle against the pandemic.
The Pacific nation has been widely praised for its handling of the coronavirus and has seen just 26 deaths in a population of five million.
The vaccine drive begins just days after authorities lifted a coronavirus lockdown in Auckland which confined most of the city’s residents to their homes for three days.
“It’s the start of what we might call a new chapter but we still have a long way to go,” said Ashley Bloomfield, the country’s director-general of health.
The rollout marked a “small but important step in a long journey,” he added, with the initial focus on high-risk citizens and those returning from overseas, along with border and quarantine workers.
Trans-Tasman neighbor Australia is to begin a similar rollout of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to frontline workers from Monday.
Both nations have closed borders to almost all international travelers, severely hurting the tourism industry which is a key pillar of the economy.
Despite the vaccine program, the New Zealand government has said it was unlikely overseas tourists would be allowed to return this year.