FIFA Tournaments Director Jaime Yarza Gonzalez is confident the competition venues of the inaugural FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup – the Philsports Arena in Pasig City and Victorias Coliseum in Negros Occidental – will be up to par when the women’s futsal showcase kicks off in November.
Yarza, who made an ocular inspection of both arenas with his team last week, said he saw no difficulty in adapting both sites to meet the standards of the International Football Federation, the world body known by its French acronym FIFA.
“I don’t see any big challenge that has worried me,” he said in a story posted on the PFF website over the weekend. “We have a very good plan in place and the LOCs (local organizing committees) and PFF are working very hard. They’re building a very strong team with very good professionals.”
The FIFA Spanish executive noted that their partnership with the PFF and LOCs “is working very, very well.”
Yarza urged Filipino sports fans and those around the world to support the initial global futsal event for women, whose hosting rights were awarded to the PFF during last year’s FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand through the initiative of PFF president John Gutierrez.
“Don’t miss the opportunity. It’s the first-ever Women’s Futsal World Cup. In the sports history books, the Philippines will be the first host forever,” he pointed out. “Don’t miss the action, it’s going to be a great tournament with 16 of the best women’s futsal teams in the world.
“It is going to be really fun.”
As the host country, the Philippines has qualified for the competition, although the Filipina5 aim to prove they are worthy to compete on equal terms with the other 15 squads by seeing action in the AFC Asian Women’s Futsal Cup set from May 6 to 17 in Hohhot, China.
Under newly-hired Spanish coach Rafa Rodriguez, the Nationals booked their spot in China when they emerged as the best third-ranked team in the qualifying meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last month with a record of two wins and one draw, which included a stunning 3-all deadlock with the host Uzbeks.
The Filipina5 are bracketed in the so-called “Group of Death” in Group B together with defending champion Iran, AFF titleholder Vietnam and Hong Kong, with the top two squads after the preliminaries advancing to the knockout round.
The wards of Rodriguez open their campaign against the Iranians on May 7, face the Vietnamese two days later before capping their group drive against Hong Kong on May 11.
Assuming they reach the semifinals, all the other three semifinalists will play in the 1st FIFA Women’s World Futsal Cup from Nov. 21 to Dec. 7 in the Philippines.
Aside from the host country, the other squad that has already qualified is New Zealand, the OFC Futsal Women’s Nation Cup champion, with two to come from Africa, two from Central, North America and the Caribbean, three from South America and four from Europe after their respective qualifying meets.
