Excitement at an all-time high ahead of Champions League opener at home for Kaya FC-Iloilo

With the country's first-ever home game in the AFC Champions League beckoning, Kaya FC-Iloilo head coach Colum Curtis and team captain Fitch Arboleda share their excitement as they'll take on Shandong Taishan FC on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at the historic Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Returning to the AFC Champions League after their debut in 2021, the reigning Philippines Football League champions will open their campaign on home soil against the 2022 Chinese FA Cup winners, and for current team captain Arboleda, this will be a huge one.

"We're really excited knowing that our families will be going tomorrow, knowing that they're going to support us. They will be our 12th man for tomorrow," said Arboleda who was seen beaming with a huge smile while answering to the press.

For Coach Curtis, he's ready to carry his wards to a historic feat come Tuesday night. He said, "We've worked tremendously hard for the past six weeks for this day to come. We could see the excitement in the players this week in training, especially last night, there was more buzz within the group."

They've been on a long road of transformation and over the last four games in their Copa Paulino Alcantara campaign, they look unstoppable, organized, and most of all, playing with a purpose. However, Curtis knows it will be a different level of opposition come Tuesday night.

"We'll come up at a different level of team more than we have domestically with all due respect to our opponents. We have to adjust things tactically to prepare against Shandong," said Curtis. He also added, "Six weeks, for me, is a short time to implement the tactical concepts that I want. We'll never know how football games' going to go so we have to make sure that the players are ready."

The 33-year-old tactician also shared how impressed he is in terms of the club's response to his philosophy and how well the players are soaking it in. "Their efforts in training have been great. They're inquisitive, they want to learn and that's all you could ask for," said Curtis.

Echoing the excitement from Colum, Arboleda showed no signs of nervousness ahead of their first AFC Champions League match at home as he will be leading the pack when he wears the captain's armband. He said, "Since three days ago, we felt no nervousness but maybe tomorrow, it will come. Very excited to play. For sure it will be tough but it will be worth it."

He also added, "For me, everyone can be a leader, especially with coach Colum, with the trust that he puts in every player." Immediately, coach Colum said, "It was quite evident after one or two weeks that Fitch is a natural-born leader in terms of how he sets examples for all the other players in the group."

Talking more about how Fitch deserves the captain's armband, Colum added, "Every day, he's consistent to be training at a high level. He's a great role model for young Filipino footballers not only in Kaya so he fully deserves to be wearing the armband tomorrow."

Team captain Fitch capped off the press conference with a short but sweet answer as to what's going to be different this year from his debut in the AFC Champions League back in 2021 which drew laughs among the media. He said, "I'll be starting." It was then followed by coach Colum saying, "How do you know?" ending the press conference on a high note and showing that they are ready to take on the opposition come game day.

Kaya FC-Iloilo will be facing Shandong Taishan FC at the Rizal Memorial Stadium at 8PM on September 19, 2023. Tickets are to be sold outside of the stadium hours before kick-off. Ahead of the match, the Rizal Memorial Stadium got a bit of a facelift with AFC Champions League ad boards now in place, and cameras set up for the big night where there will be VAR implemented.