Filipinas plunge into busy calendar year
THE PHILIPPINE WOMEN’S football team looks forward to starting the journey back to the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WC) as it embarks on a busy calendar this year.
The Filipinas, who claimed a famous upset against host New Zealand in their historic WC debut in 2023, are set to vie in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in June and July, which serves as the first stage of qualification for both the 2026 Asian meet and the 2027 World Cup.
In between, the Pinay booters are slated to defend their tiara in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship in Indonesia.
After this, they continue the hunt for the breakthrough gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in December in Thailand.
After the WC, the Filipinas kept themselves busy competing in pocket tournaments in Spain and Turkey and playing friendlies against Finland and South Korea last year.
To get the ball rolling for 2025, the Filipinas reassembled for a camp at the Mall of Asia facility capped off by an intra-squad match featuring WC vets against younger players that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Filipinas Blue, composed of young guns and reserves, seized the initiative on 22-year-old Alex Carpio’s opening goal before World Cupper Merryl Serrano tied it up for Filipinas White. — Olmin Leyba
