Football Resurgence Alive And Well In Philippines After First-Ever ASEAN Title

The Philippines is mostly known for being a basketball-obsessed nation after their long-standing love affair with the sport that dates back to the 1910s, but there was a sport that predates it.

Before basketball, the island was introduced to the sport of football in the late 1800s, and British artist and cartoonist Charles Wirgman was fascinated with their skills with the ball, even mentioning that he had “never seen it played with such dexterity as in Manila.”

However, when the Philippines came under American rule, the sport was overtaken by basketball and was soon enough put on the back burner for decades to come.

Since the late 2000s, football was getting back on its feet when FIFA kickstarted its investment into the development of the sport in the country, which included the building of technical centers across the island.

The arrival of former Rwanda Under-17 coach Hans Michael Weis in 2011, under the endorsement of the German Football Association (DFB), as the new coach of the Philippines men’s national football team jumpstarted the love affair once again.

After multiple successful outings, football was back on the menu for Filipinos, but it was still a far cry from the attention that basketball had from its citizens.

This is where the Philippines women’s national football team enters the picture.

They have been silently building towards being a competitive force on the world stage since the 2000s and have qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after advancing to the knockout stages of the 2022 Asian Cup by defeating Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals back in February.

With that win, the Filipinas have earned the distinction of becoming the country’s first-ever representatives in the World Cup, surpassing the men’s team that laid the foundations for the sport’s growing fanbase.

The Philippines would go on to host the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship and posted a record of four wins and one loss in the group stages–the one loss being to archrival Thailand–and entered the knockout stages.

They faced the tournament’s previous champions in Vietnam for the opening match and handled them with ease with a score of 4-0.

It assured them of a podium finish–the first of its kind for the Philippines women’s team.

With an estimated crowd of over 8,000 people at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, the Filipinas got off to a 2-0 start against Thailand thanks to goals from Jessica Cowart at the seventh minute and a Jaclyn Sawicki assist to Katrina Guillou at the 20th minute to end the half.

Thailand came out with more energy in the second half as they sought to mount a comeback, but the Filipinas’ defense was there to stop them at every turn and credit must go to keeper Olivia McDaniel for making timely saves throughout the match.

Prolific forward Sarina Bolden sealed the deal for the island nation by scoring a wonderful header off a corner from Sara Eggesvik at the 89th minute to take a 3-0 victory in the finals, bringing home the country’s first piece of silverware in an international competition.

It was a historical moment for the country’s growing football program, and head coach Alen Stajcic hopes it will be the start of something great.

"Young girls and young boys can see what it's like to be successful and have that passion and energy in the crowd, only football can do that. So, I really wanna grow the sport here for those young boys and girls,” he said as quoted by the Philippine Star.

While football still has a long way to go in terms of matching basketball’s popularity, winning a title on the international scene is arguably the best way to showcase just how big the sport can become if given the same amount of support that basketball does.

As the eyes of a growing fanbase look ahead to the 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup, another strong showing at the sport’s biggest tournament will surely do wonders for the country’s first sporting love.