LA Galaxy Set to Face Philippine Azkals in December

As it was announced last week, the MLS Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Galaxy will be facing off against the national team of the Republic of the Philippines, the Philippine Azkals, on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, Philippines.

Highly anticipated information regarding the exhibition matchup between the Galaxy and the Azkals was announced earlier today by the Philippine Football Federation and their partners, ranging from ticket information to accessible events during the Galaxy visit.

According to the collective information released, the Galaxy will begin their visit by allowing inside access to paying patrons in an open practice scheduled for 9-11 AM. on Friday, December 2.

That will then be followed by a private kids' football clinic, composed of 150 paying participants who will have the opportunity to learn from their Galaxy idols from 2-4 PM.

The Galaxy visit culminates with the LA Galaxy vs. Philippine Azkals friendly on December 3 at 6:30 PM.

The match will be shown live on local TV station Studio 23, live in high definition on Balls SkyCable HD 167 and will be replayed on ABS-CBN on December 4.

Tickets to the events range from 2,000-15,500 PHP and go on sale tomorrow afternoon, November 10.

The match will be an early Christmas treat for football fans across the Philippines, who most recently found their national team contending for a spot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Kuwait, a game in which the Azkals fell short 2-1.

Support for the national team went on a significant rise throughout the past year. The Azkals tore through a number of notable opponents from various countries and clubs to project themselves as a source of national sports interest alongside the country's national basketball team, the Philippines Smart Gilas, who recently had a similar event—welcoming a select number of NBA stars including Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and more, for an exhibition game last July.

Players from the Azkals' under-23 team, including senior team player Manny Ott, are currently competing in the South East Asia Games, where they have met with some struggles on the field.

The Los Angeles Galaxy, on the other hand, still have much bigger business to take care of prior to the Philippine trip, as they are set to face the Houston Dynamo for the ultimate prize in U.S. football, the MLS Cup.

Twitter: @CarloHerrera.