Kaya Steadily Getting Accustomed to Continental Competition Developing a taste for international play, the club returns for a fourth campaign on the continental stage.

For Philippine clubs, the ultimate proving ground is against Asia’s finest. With the AFC Champions League preliminary round coming this summer, Kaya FC-Iloilo are set to embark on a fourth continental campaign in six years. It’s quite the accomplishment, so we asked General Manager Paul Tolentino about how it feels to have grown the club into a fixture on the Asian stage.

“To be honest, I’ve never thought of it in that way,” said Tolentino, who took charge in 2012. “Usually year to year, you’re so caught up in what’s going on in the season and trying to reach your goals and targets, that you don’t really zoom out and count backwards in terms of what the club has achieved over a span of time.”

Kaya qualified for continental play due to finishing second in the the last two seasons of the Philippines Football League. Tolentino, while still grateful to represent the country against the region’s best, would prefer to qualify by hoisting a trophy, like the club did in 2015 and 2018.

“Just like everyone else — Kaya fans or people at the club — winning trophies is what truly crowns a successful season. Not to take away from qualifying the last two years, however, just like everyone else, we’d much rather win and qualify for Asia because we won a trophy,” Paul stated.

Every match against Asian opposition is special, but over the last three campaigns, there have been some unforgettable moments. For Tolentino, it begins with Kaya’s first ever match in the AFC Cup, a trip to face Hong Kong’s Kitchee, a club that had recently reached the semi-finals of the competition. The Philippine side put up a valiant effort, but came away empty handed, with the match decided by a penalty midway through the second half.

“Leaving that stadium that evening was a proud moment for everyone despite the result – just to signify to everyone that we belong at this stage, and that we can compete against some of the best clubs at that level.”

Another one was the loss against Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim in the knockout round of the same year. To play against the defending champions in a hostile environment of 25,000 people, in torrential rain no less, was quite the experience. The result was forgettable, but Paul came away feeling the team had played against a club with a blueprint Kaya can aspire to.

“They’re a defending AFC Cup champion and a club that sets itself apart in the region with their infrastructure, their facilities, and their budget. You know, it’s a target of where I think a lot of clubs in Southeast Asia want to be.”

Not all lessons came from losses however. Last year’s win away against Shan United, and the show on home soil in 2019 against Home United both serve as benchmarks for the team’s progress.

“I think that win against the defending Southeast Asian Zonal Champions, Home United in Bacolod was also a special match. I don’t think the team put a foot wrong that whole day, that whole match. Coming away with 5-0 result was really, really special.”

He then concluded with an experience off the pitch, representing Kaya at the AFC Conference in Kuala Lumpur, and being able to stand alongside the very best clubs in Asia. “Being at the AFC Conference and seeing all the other clubs—not just AFC Cup clubs but AFC Champions League clubs—seeing the way they carry themselves, seeing the preparation of the AFC, and being a part of the group stage draw for the first time. I think those are all the standout moments so far, that I’ve experienced in my role at the club.”

Kaya FC–Iloilo have their first crack at the Champions League level in April, with a highly anticipated Preliminary match against Australia’s Brisbane Roar. Should Kaya fail to crack into the Champions League Group Stage, an AFC Cup run in June awaits the club.