It has been a year and a half since the Philippine women’s national football team made history after qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup happening this July.
Next month, the Filipinas will finally set foot in the most prestigious football meet for the first time in New Zealand.
The Philippines earned an outright berth to the World Cup following its epic shootout win over Chinese Taipei in the Asian Cup in India in January 2022.
Still, there’s so much left to prove and accomplish once they actually plunge into action against the powerhouse nations.
“We’re there to really make the most out of it. We have to prove to everyone in the world na hindi tsamba ‘yong ginawa namin and I think that it takes a lot of consistency,” said Filipinas goalkeeper Inna Palacios during their pre-departure event hosted by the New Zealand Embassy.
The Nationals, who jumped three places to the 46th spot in the latest FIFA rankings, were tangled with the higher-ranked countries in Norway (No. 12), Switzerland (No. 20) and New Zealand (No. 25) in Group A.
Despite staring at a tall task ahead, the Filipinas refuse to be one-time participants and make the Philippines a regular at the quadrennial global football showpiece.
“I hope we continue going into the World Cup. But we would like it to be sustainable. We don’t want this to be like one time, big time,” Filipinas co-captain Hali Long said.
“We’re lucky to be there and to see the Philippine flag raised there in our lifetime. We haven’t been there yet, but we would like to see it there more often than just this one time,” Long added.
The Filipinas, though, through the Philippine Football Federation led by its President Nonong Araneta, are calling for enough government support for their bid in the World Cup, adding that not only the national team is benefiting from their stint but the grassroots football programs as well in the country.
“At the end of the day, we’re doing this to help the development of the sport in the country,” added Palacios.
The Filipinas are set for camp in Australia this month for their weeks-long training before flying to New Zealand for the biggest football tilt of their lives yet.