An upcoming tournament, more grassroots programs, and full-on support — GoTyme Bank is going all-in for Philippine football.
Philippine football just got a huge boost that could take things to the next level.
On Tuesday, March 18, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) officially announced its partnership with GoTyme Bank, one of the fastest-growing digital banks in the Philippines.
Members of the PFF, GoTyme Bank, and the Philippine football community gathered together at The Westin Manila to unveil and celebrate the exciting new partnership, which is slated to last for the next three years.
When asked about the driving force behind this partnership, GoTyme President and CEO Nate Clark simply said, “It was the audacity of their vision.” According to Clark, at a meeting with PFF National Team Director Freddy Gonzalez, he was struck by the federation’s lofty goals — getting the women’s team to qualify for the World Cup again and reach the knockout stages; to go far in the Asia Cup with the men’s team, and to even see them go all the way to the World Cup.
Seeing the ambition of the PFF for the country’s national teams resonated with the audaciousness of GoTyme Bank, as a younger, but highly competitive brand, and thus, an equally ambitious partnership has been born.
But more than just providing the PFF with financial backing, GoTyme aims to raise the level of Philippine football on a broader scale.
As Freddy Gonzalez shared, “We intend to build a lasting impact with our efforts with the national teams, a thriving ecosystem with a culture of excellence. We require long-term partners to do that, and we’re extremely happy and proud to have GoTyme as an integral piece in making this a reality.”
Here’s how this big-time partnership hopes to raise the level of the beautiful game in the Philippines.
Raising the stakes
GoTyme Bank announced its commitment to Philippine football as a whole, pledging its support to both the men’s and women’s sides. This covers an array of things for the Philippine Football Federation.
As Freddy Gonzalez outlined, running the national teams is like running a company, and having the support of GoTyme helps to make this process more seamless with convenient salary and allowance transfers, low foreign exchange rates for the team’s travels, and extra financial support.
GoTyme also expressed its support for the PFF Women’s League to help grow the women’s professional league in the Philippines and create more opportunities for Filipina athletes.
In addition, this partnership also aims to equip both national teams with the talent they need to succeed.
For instance, Gonzalez mentioned during the press conference that the men’s national team has two new members joining the coaching staff, including Carles Cuadrat, one of the new assistant coaches who has extensive international coaching experience. New players are also expected to join both the men’s and women’s sides.
“That’s what GoTyme really helps us with, it legitimizes the teams, number one, because now we have somebody like GoTyme supporting us. And it also makes sure that we are answerable to GoTyme. So we have to be at their level and at that level of professionalism as well,” Gonzalez added.
More opportunities to compete
One of the most exciting announcements that was revealed at the partnership unveiling event at The Westin Manila was the upcoming tournament that is currently in the works.
The PFF announced that in September this year, the Philippines will be hosting the first-ever GoTyme Bank Cup, an invitational tournament that will bring teams from other parts of the world together in a series of friendly competitions.
It was revealed that invitations have already been sent out to teams in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and South Africa. Although the details are still yet to be ironed out and officially announced, fans can expect that the men’s competition will run sometime between September 1 to 9.
On the other hand, the women’s team is also expected to have its own GoTyme Bank Cup early in 2026.
Nurturing talent
While major support for the Philippines’ national football teams, as well as the professional leagues, has been a big need in the country, GoTyme Bank’s partnership with the PFF also hopes to expand its impact to the next generation of players. With this, they also announced that as part of the three-year partnership, the two organizations will be including grassroots programs as part of their focus.
“The target grassroots here are kids ages 5 through 7 across the country, across different schools. So the intent really is to nurture their love for the game, and then keep on exposing them to the game, and then support whatever that grassroots program is,” GoTyme Bank Co-CEO Abet Tinio shared.
This is something that Philippine Men’s National Football Team Head Coach Albert Capellas is excited about.
“[The Philippines is] a big country. I’m 100% sure that there [are] a lot of talented players already now…The most important is to find these players and give them opportunities to show it,” Capellas shared.
GoTyme is, indeed, giving all-out support for Philippine football, and exciting things seem to be on the horizon.
Banner image by Annika Caniza.