LONDON - Fulham Football Club’s reserve goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is a source of pride for many young British-Pinoy football enthusiasts.
In the recent event organized by the Philippine Embassy in London, which gathered students and young professionals from various fields, Etheridge delivered a message.
The first British-Pinoy to be part of the English Premier League (EPL) also took the opportunity to thank everyone for supporting the Philippine national team--Azkals.
“It’s great to be here and it's great to have everyone supporting us, especially in this country. There’s a lot of support that has grown over the months in the Philippines. Obviously, basketball is the number one sport over there. But we, myself, and the other Filipinos playing for the team, want to change it. Football is the world’s number one sport, and we want it to continue over there [Philippines],” he said in the opening message.
The Azkals will be playing against Mongolia in the home ground at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod on February 9 for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup.
Before qualifying for the semis in the AFF Suzuki Cup last year, the Philippine squad was not even in the consciousness of many Filipinos. Much of the credit of the recent achievement of the Azkals was given to the British-Pinoy players such as the Younghusband brothers--Phil and James, Rob Gier, Chris Greatwich and Neil Etheridge.
Etheridge hopes that the support from the fans won't fizzle out. 
“As I mentioned earlier, we got to the semi-finals in the Southeast Asian Cup which was unheard of. That’s why Twitter blew up for us, almost all websites, it’s unbelievable. The amount of fans we have is just phenomenal,” he said.
While securing a golden opportunity to build on his football career in the UK, Etheridge has also high hopes for the national team.
“I hope to carry on playing in the premiership. I’m about to sign a new contract there, hopefully for the next 3 years,” he announced.
He is out to give his 100% support to the Azkals to turn the state of the game around in a country where football infrastructures still need to put in place.
“We hope that more local-based players will compete for positions in the national team,” he said.
He ended in a high note and remained very optimistic of the future of football in the Philippines.
“Hopefully, in the next 10, 20, 30 years, things can change. After my football career, I will venture over to the Philippines, buy a house over there and hopefully make things go into the right direction,” said Etheridge.
Etheridge also welcomed questions from the attendees. Most of those who asked questions have been following his career.
Etheridge will arrive in the Philippines on February 5 and will immediately join the team for the pre-match training and conditioning routine.
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