MANILA – With his naturalization moving closer to approval, Spanish striker Bienvenido Marañon expressed his desire to become part of the national men’s football team in the future.
The United City Football Club star said it was really his dream to join the Philippine Azkals once his naturalization papers are approved.
“I would like to be one of you: to be part of [the] Azkals,” the 34-year-old Marañon said. “I would like to help them along as much as I can and be part of Philippine football’s development.”
The House of Representatives recently approved in its third and final reading the measure filed by Manila First District representative Manny Lopez that aims to grant Filipino citizenship to Marañon.
Some of the co-authors of the bill are Cong. Greg Gasataya of Bacolod City lone district, Ilongga Rep. Sharon Garin, and Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva of the Second District of Negros Occidental.
However, a separate measure in the Senate, which was filed by Negrense senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, remained pending at the committee level.
Marañon played for the defunct Ceres-Negros Football Club since he arrived in the country in 2015. He steered the club as it reached the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Zonal Final of the Asian Football Confederation Cup in 2017 and 2018.
He also made a huge impact in the domestic league, helping Ceres-Negros Football Club get the grand slam title in the Philippine Football League (PFL) from 2017 to 2019 and added another for United City FC this 2020 PFL season./PN
