The Philippines’ women’s football stalwarts Hali Long, Anicka Castañeda, Inna Palacios. PFF photo
Filipinas provide inspiration
THE Philippine women’s football team, in appreciation of what has been a historic year for the program, gave back with the cast of players from Tondo FC and Gawad Kalinga that represented the Filipinas in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup lineup video.
“You don’t know how much you inspire each player that competed in the World Cup. Just when you thought we inspire you, it’s actually you players that inspire us. Everything we have done is for the country and for you to have that opportunity to follow your dreams,” said long-time goalkeeper Inna Palacios to the young girls aspiring to play for the country.
The celebration came as the Philippines capped off a memorable 2023 run by claiming its highest FIFA women’s ranking to date moving six places up from 44th in the previous ranking to a record high of 38th.
The women’s world rankings came out last Friday, where the Filipinas remain the seventh-best in Asia and No. 3 in Southeast Asia.
Among the competitions that were counted in the rankings were the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, where the Philippines finished as quarterfinalists in its maiden competition, and the Women’s Olympic Asian Qualifiers Round 2, where the country faced Women’s World Cup fourth placers Australia before a sold-out crowd of almost 60,000 fans in Perth.
Of course, the historic run by the Filipinas in the FIFA Women’s World Cup was highlighted by a stunning 1-0 win over hosts New Zealand during the group stages.
Captain Hali Long expressed her appreciation to the players, who served as the team’s inspiration during their historic campaign last June.
“I just want to say thank you for all that you did, nice to see your faces in the video,” said Long.
“You inspire me and my teammates every single day and it allowed us to keep on what we are doing and we hope someday to see your faces up there one day in the World Cup,” she added.
Anicka Castañeda was also in attendance, along with team manager Jefferson Cheng as well as newly appointed PFF general secretary Gelix Mercader.
