The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has appointed Spanish coach Rafa Merino Rodriguez as the new shot-caller for the women’s national futsal team ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers slated in Tashkent, Uzbekistan this January 11 to 19.
The football governing body announced the development on Tuesday in a send-off press conference, days after opening its four-day training camp composed of 12 of its final 14-women roster, featuring half of the players from its previous lineup in the ASEAN Women’s Futsal Championship last November.
Players like Isabella Bandoja, Cathrine Graversen, Alisha del Campo, Samatha Hughes, Vrendelle Nuera, Regine Rebosura, and Kayla Santiago are coming back to continue their tour of duty for the country.
On the other hand, Filipinas strikers Katrina Guillou and Isabella Flanigan, who saw action in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 under then mentor Alen Stajcic, have also answered the futsal call-up, while newcomers Sheen Borres, Shelah Mae Cadag, Sara Castañeda, Rocelle Mendaño, and Dionesa Tolentino completed the pool for this meet.
“There’s good ambience in the team, the environment’s very good. We’re all working together with the same goal,” Rodriguez said in Spanish as translated by Flanigan during the press conference at Studio 300 Makati.
“Football and futsal are compatible, and we had sufficient time to adapt and the attitude [of the players] is the most important aspect. To have a good attitude has been the most helpful, the most beneficial part. The federation has also helped in that aspect,” he said. “Obviously we all have the same goal of winning, to qualify for the next round in China. We don’t look at the rankings because that can cause extra pressure. So we just go out there and play how we play.”
Though the unceremonious transfer of previous coach Vic Hermans to the men’s team caused quite the stir, the national team continued to train earnestly through the holidays, with hopes of making a good account of itself against futsal powerhouses beyond regional competition.
The Philippines is set to open the tournament in Group C against Kuwait on Saturday at 9 p.m. (Manila time) before taking on host nation Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in back-to-back playdates the following week at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Pinay booters are looking to put up a good fight against Australia when they close out their group assignment on January 19.
Despite yielding unfavorable results in the inaugural ASEAN Women’s Futsal Championship with a 0-1-3 (win-draw-loss) record, PFF president John Gutierrez insisted that not only did the tournament help in identifying hosting gaps, but it also provided a better look at the Nationals’ program come the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup in November.
There, the Philippines is once again looking to demonstrate its hosting capabilities following its successful FIBA Basketball World Cup staging in 2023.
While the Philippines has already earned an outright berth to the World Cup as host nation, Gutierrez said the squad is expected to prove itself in the qualifiers and ultimately make it all the way to the championship stage set in China.
“In any case, the AFF tournament was a very important hosting for us. Because we did not just identify the challenges of hosting an international event. We also identified the aspects in which we can improve on. So we did learn from that. Hopefully, what we have learned, we can apply in the AFC Qualifiers. These are all necessary trials for us to get to the level that we want to be in. And the level we want to be in is the best in the world. As unfavorable the results were of the AFF, we learned a lot from that tournament. And we will apply that to the AFC Qualifiers and hopefully into the AFC Championships,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez also revealed that aside from the Philsports Arena in Pasig City which served as the venue for the ASEAN Championship, FIFA has also approved the use of Victorias City Coliseum in Bacolod as part of its bid to bring international futsal around the country.
“I’m happy to announce that last month, the FIFA competitions department wanted to inspect another venue for us. It was subsequently approved. Victorias Stadium, that’s already officially approved by FIFA. The local government of Victorias, particularly Mayor Albee Benitez. Those are the developments. With the preparations of the national team, we’re on track. And also the infrastructure and logistics, we’re good to go,” the PFF chief said.
The futsal ensemble is flying to Uzbekistan tonight, Tuesday, where it is expected to see temperatures drop to -2C during competition proper.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Be the first to comment