The newly-opened MOA Football Pitch in Pasay City, February 25, 2025, in Pasay City. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.MANILA — The newly-opened Mall of Asia Football Pitch seeks to create new opportunities for the sport that is continuously growing in the country.

Inaugurated on Tuesday by members of the Philippine women’s national football team, the Philippine Football Federation, and other officials from the mall in Pasay, it looks to become one of the newest hubs of the beautiful game in the country.

“The whole project was an engineering marvel, actually,” Lester Louie Lee, the sales manager of Sports & Play International Corporation, told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday.

He revealed that the pitch, which currently houses a 1,800 seating capacity but is designed to be expandable, started over a decade ago, and detailed how the progress went over the years.
The audience’s seats in the MOA Football Pitch, February 25, 2025, in Pasay City. Photo from Rom Anzures, ABS-CBN News.“This project goes back more than a 10-year span,” Lee shared. “Planning stage na ‘to, mga 2014, 2015, kasi there were super limited football pitches in the Philippines pa lang. Then over the years, medyo challenging ‘to because MOA was only a two-floor mall.”

“MOA management was planning and building their third and fourth floors while the mall was operating and renovating, so it was very challenging,” he continued.

Lee said that their 35-year-old company — which was also the mall’s partner for its sports equipment during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup as well as the 2024 Volleyball Nations League — and their initial project with SM, the pitch in National University-Laguna’s Inspire Sports Academy, helped paved way for this facility.

“We worked with them from the start,” said Lee, of the pitch that has dimensions of 115 meters by 74 meters. “So this is a certified pitch na AFC size.”

Lee added that the pitch, which cost almost P30 million, was delayed by two to three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the PFF and the players were ultimately ecstatic about the outcome.

“They are very happy. There is a new home, and this will boost local football and grassroots programs,” he shared.

“They are very happy na: ‘Okay, may paglalaruan na kami na very accessible to the public.’ So there is access to all players, and people are craving for reservations na,” Lee furthered, while also saying how the facility seeks to aid grassroots programs aside from being eyed as a venue for big games.

“The PFF is very happy, and for sure, it would entail new football players, student-athletes, and possibly, future members of the National teams,” he said.

Lee added that there would be a separate company that would handle how interested parties and leagues can reserve the facility, but this MOA project is far from being their last one.

“We’re building more pitches in the Metro, in Ortigas, and in Quezon City,” he hinted.