MANILA -- After winning by a landslide in the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) elections last Saturday, John Gutierrez has laid out his plans for the country's football scene.

Gutierrez, the general secretary of the Bukidnon Football Association, garnered 30 out of a possible 36 votes, with Davao’s Henry Sabate and Stallion-Laguna FC team owner Filbert Alquiros getting three votes apiece.

"I feel overwhelmed with the number of votes that we garnered. And because of such, I think we have the support of the PFF Congress which would make the job easier, so to speak. I am happy that support was more than a super majority," said Gutierrez after the polls held at the Bellevue Hotel in Muntinlupa.

• Gutierrez elected as new president of PFF

The newly-elected president said that youth and grassroots development would be among his foremost priorities.

"I want us to be able to bridge the gap (with the rest of the football world) in giving our youth the same training opportunities, the same training exposure as of the other countries that are better than us at football," he explained.

"We have the talent here but unfortunately we don't have the right programs in bridging that gap. In a nutshell, this is the gap I want to bridge," he added. "I want our children to grow up to be as exposed and as nurtured as those in other football-playing countries. Sending teams or children overseas for training and exposure is a temporary plan."

"We want to win now. We want to do that as an experiment or as an option. But the main purpose again is to provide them with the same kind of training, same caliber here in our country. That is what we are going to implement right away."

Aiming to work from the ground up, the new PFF said that he will make sure that the country's young players will not lack the necessary equipment to learn the game.

"First of all, we want to make sure na hindi na tayo mawawalan ng bola. That is the No. 1 equipment for football. Just put two slippers far apart, goal na yan, e. So everybody has the chance to play football," he said.

Gutierrez will be one of the youngest national sports association (NSA) heads in the country, and has vowed to build on the success of his predecessor -- Mariano "Nonong" Araneta, who was president of the PFF from 2010 to 2023.

Under Araneta's guidance, the Philippine Azkals reached the Asian Cup and the Philippine women's national football team reached the FIFA Women's World Cup.

"Sir Nonong's guidance will always be welcome. You would have to be delusional to think that you do not need him," said Gutierrez. "I will always appreciate the advice of Sir Nonong when he gives it or if he gives it."

"We plan to continue on his legacy and build on it. My team is ready to move forward in expanding and enhancing the development and progress of the last administration," he added.

Regarding the composition of his team, Gutierrez said that interim PFF secretary-general Coco Torre will remain in his post "for a while," though former national player Freddie Gonzales will also be in consideration.

"We will take it one step at a time," Gutierrez said.

He also shared a message to football fans, particularly those who long for the glory days of the Azkals: "All I can say is that we will work hard to win everybody’s trust. We are going to hit the ground running. Please be patient with us. Trabaho agad. And whatever the priorities are we will address them one by one. Walang pahinga." -- Report from Manolo Pedralvez.