The Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list on Monday called for more support for the development and training of women football players as the Philippine national team made history for clinching the country’s first FIFA World Cup berth.
“For the longest time, the spotlight has been on the Azkals, the men’s national team. And while we do not, in any way, diminish what our men’s national team has accomplished over the years, with this achievement of the Malditas, it is high time that we give the same level of attention and support to our women’s team,” PBA Party-list spokesperson Atty. Migs Nograles.
The Philippines knocked out Chinese Taipei, 4-3, in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinal stage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 on Sunday, at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India.
“We congratulate the Malditas and wish them the best of luck in the World Cup. Their match against Chinese Taipei was a thrill to watch,” she added.
The Philippines knocked out Chinese Taipei, 4-3, in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinal stage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 on Sunday, at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India.
Quinley Quezada scored at the 49’ mark to give the Malditas a 1-0 lead, but Zhuo Li-Ping scored a goal at 83’ to send the match to extra time. The 30-minute extra time, though, still wasn’t enough to crack the deadlock, sending the match to a penalty shoot-out.
The win secured a slot for the team in the 2023 World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The Philippines also advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup, with a match against South Korea on Thursday, where the Filipinos hope to add another milestone.
The Malditas had earlier won over Thailand and Indonesia and secured the second spot in Group B. It was the first time the Philippines progressed past the group stages and into the knockout rounds of the tournament.
With three wins in the group stages, the Malditas also made history as having the best points total by any Philippine team in the group stages of the Asian Cup, while also scoring the most goals ever, thus far.
Meanwhile, the Davaoeña lawyer also called for the development of more football pitches in the country.
The win secured a slot for the team in the 2023 World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The Philippines also advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup, with a match against South Korea on Thursday, where the Filipinos hope to add another milestone.
“Developing skills and technique require good quality pitches to practice on in preparation for competitive play. And as of now parang bilang lang yata sa mga daliri ang maayos na football fields. We need to develop and maintain world-class pitches because the quality of the pitch affects the quality, skills and technique of our footballers,” Nograles stressed.
“World-class play means world-class training, which in turn requires world-class facilities,” she added.
Football site manilafootball.com, a fan-oriented website created by football enthusiasts and dedicated to bringing valuable information and reliable news to all football lovers and players in the Philippines, lists 14 football pitches in Metro Manila for competitive play.
