University of Makati Stadium

The University of Makati Stadium, simply known as the UMak, is a football and track field stadium built and owned by the University of Makati.

University of Makati Stadium
LocationMakati, Philippines
OwnerUniversity of Makati
OperatorUniversity of Makati
Capacity4,000 [1][2]
SurfaceArtificial grass
Tenants
United Football League (previously)
Kaya F.C.–Makati (2017)
United Makati (2019)
Global Makati (2019–)

Background

The stadium has hosted United Football League games as well as a friendly match of the Philippines national football team.[3] It also has hosted the National Capital Region F.A. Division 3 League.[4]

The stadium was assigned as the training ground of the Thailand national football team during the group stage of the 2016 AFF Championship. The Thai head coach criticized the hosts for the poor quality of the pitch before their very first game of the tournament and the long grass in the pitch had to be trimmed before the Thais began their training session.[5]

Kaya F.C.–Makati, who were set to participate in the inaugural edition of the Philippines Football League, announced in January 2017 that they have made the stadium as their home ground.[6] However the following season, they moved to Iloilo.

Facilities

UMak has a grandstand, light towers, and a rubberized track. However the stadium has a reputation for a poor quality pitch. It is reported in 2012 that the football venue has no basic herringbone drainage system and the soil is garden-variety soil which fails FIFA standards of six layers of six layers of sand, soil and topsoil. The Philippine Rugby Football Union offered to install a drainage system for free but the offer was not accepted.[4] By October 2018, the football field's surface has been converted to artificial grass.[7] In 2019, an artificial pitch was installed in the stadium.[8]

References
  1. "University of Makati Stadium". sports.opera.com. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  2. "University of Makati Stadium". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  3. Guerrero, Bob (3 March 2016). "Why are we so bad at making football stadiums?". Rappler. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. Guerrero, Bob (6 November 2012). "A closer look at our most unloved Football pitch". The Passionate Fan. Yahoo!. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  5. "Venue woes vex champs". Bangkok Post. Post Publishing PCL. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  6. "Kaya FC is now Kaya FC–Makati, makes UMak its home stadium | Kaya Futbol Club". Kaya Futbol Club. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  7. Guerrero, Bob (29 October 2018). "Kaya Iloilo FC: Organizations win championships". Rappler. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  8. "Philippine Premier League launched as country's new top-tier club competition". ESPN5. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.

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