THE football field of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex has been certified as ‘quality pro’ by the International Federation of Association Football.

The announcement was jointly made by the Philippine Sports Commission and E-Sports International, the leading expert in establishing FIFA-certified fields in the country, during a special session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the conference hall of the RMSC on Tuesday.

FIFA Quality Pro is the topmost quality designation within the FIFA Quality Programme, indicating the strictest standards of performance, accuracy, safety, and durability. It is reserved for artificial turf that may be used for the highest level of football such as professional matches and international tournaments.

“I’m glad to inform you that Rizal Memorial Stadium is now officially a FIFA Quality Pro certified field. Since we passed it, I want to thank the PSC for the trust, for allowing us to build champions with them,” said E-Esports Managing Director Audris Romualdez during the Forum.

PSC chairman Richard Bachmann,  E-Sports General Manager Pam Romualdez, Engineer V Office of the Provincial Architect Joseph Apat, and Department of Education teacher and football coach Cyril Olis were also on hand in the public sports program presented by San Miguel Corporation, PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT, and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

A huge replica of the field certificate was later presented by E-Sports to Bachmann and the PSC.

“The ultimate goal for PSC is to make it (football field) alive again. And we want to thank E-Sports for helping us and giving us quality turf which everyone can enjoy,” said Bachmann.

The refurbishment was made within a month’s time frame, then tested last April 11, before finally receiving the formal certification last May 2.

The FIFA Quality Pro certificate is valid for one year, while the FIFA Quality certificate has a validity of three years.

E-Sports will provide one year of free servicing in the upkeep of the field, and has also given maintenance equipment and training to PSC personnel.

Pam Romualdez added the works of E-Sports are not only limited in restoring football fields and building track ovals like what it did with the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.

“We are actually building a skate park as well, the first and largest in the Philippines. We also do a lot of recreational spaces, obstacle courses, outdoor fitness spaces for developers, and we also do multi-purpose sports, tennis courts, and they’re all FIFA certified, FIVB certified, badminton certified, and ITF certified,” she said.

Of the Local Government Units in the country, Lanao Del Norte under newly-elected Congresswoman (District 1) Imelda Dimaporo has already tapped the services of E-Sports to help upgrade the Mindanao Civic Center.