MANILA – Filipino-Australian defender Joshua Grommen has announced his departure from Ceres-Negros FC, further fueling speculations that the football club is heading to dissolution.
Grommen, who made five appearances for Ceres-Negros this year, said in an interview with The World Game that he is in search for a new football club to play for in the Southeast Asian region.
He also acknowledged that the future of the 2020 Philippines Football League season is in serious doubt with the country still under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“It’s not the best for the club as Ceres is a big team in Asia,” Grommen said, hinting on the Busmen’s disbandment. “In regards to Philippines football, the amount of COVID-19 cases is growing and I don’t know if teams can afford to pay players anymore.”
“At the moment I’m looking into clubs back in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, maybe even India, but with the whole virus situation it’s currently impossible to go overseas as borders are currently closed till maybe next year,” he added.
Grommen admitted having a hard time during the enhanced community quarantine as he was holed up in his apartment in Bacolod City for three months after returning home to Australia recently.
“I just got out of quarantine here in Sydney so it’s good to have freedom after being in lockdown in the Philippines for three months,” said Grommen, who represented the country as part of the U-23 team last year.
“The first two months we weren’t allowed to leave our apartment [in Bacolod City] unless we went to buy groceries so we were pretty much in prison,” the 23-year-old added.
Born and raised in Brisbane, Grommen came through the Queensland Academy of Sport and the Brisbane Roar’s youth team. He also had stints with Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines./PN
