WITH their sustained intensive training, extensive international play, and past track record, the Filipinas are strong gold medal contenders in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games in May, according to football general secretary Atty. Ed Gastanes.
“We have a very real chance right now for our national women’s football team in the Cambodia SEA Games given its preparations and our committed and competent coaching staff,” Gastanes said yesterday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the PSC conference room of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“After the Filipinas captured the AFF Women’s Championship trophy last year, they are really looking forward to bagging another medal, if not the gold,” he added.
After qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in January last year, the charges of Australian coach Alen Stajcic attained another milestone, clinching the AFF Women’s Championship before a banner hometown crowd at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium four months later.
Their victorious campaign included an empathic 4-0 win over vaunted Vietnam, the two-time SEA Games winner, in the semifinals.
During the public sports program backed by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Gastanes said he expects the Filipinas and Vietnam to dispute the crown.
The Filipinas copped a bronze medal in the 31st edition of the regional meet in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Nationals won’t be wanting for tune-up games before the Cambodia Games, with Gastanes announcing a slew of international competitions lined up for them.
“The Filipinas will kick off their season with the four-nation Pinatar Cup in Murcia, Spain,” he said of the tournament to be held from Feb. 15 to 21 also featuring Wales, Scotland and Iceland in Murcia, Spain.
Gastanes pointed out the three European squads are all ranked higher than the Philippines in the FIFA women’s world ratings, with Welsh ranked No. 16, Scots at No. 21, and the Icelanders at No. 25. The Filipinas are rated No. 53.
Filipinas opens its campaign against Welsh on Feb. 15, plays Scotland three days later, then winds up its stint in the short, single-round series against Iceland on Feb. 21, with all of the matches to be played at the Pinatar Arena.
The Filipinas will also play on April 3 to 11 in the first round of the Olympic women’s football qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics as they face Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Hong Kong at a venue still to be announced.
He said the Cambodia Games will serve as a key tune-up tournament for the wards of Stajcic before they compete in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 20 to Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
The PFF hopes to organize a tri-nation tournament for the Filipinas before they represent the country in the blue-ribbon football competition for the first time. The Filipinas are bracketed in Group A with the Ferns, as the New Zealand squad is called; Norway, and Switzerland.
They are also expected to see action in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games on Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 in Hangzhou, China before possibly winding up their hectic competition schedule to defend their AFF Women’s Championship trophy back home in November.