Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31) – The Philippine women’s national football team will now be known as Filipinas.
Ahead of their Australia training camp, the Philippine Football Federation announced on Thursday the new moniker for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup-bound squad.
“It is simple and nationalistic. Our athletes are Filipinas. They are strong-willed, determined, passionate and driven by the goal to represent not just themselves, but the country,” national team manager Jeff Cheng said.
The Filipinas arrived in Australia on Wednesday for their training camp for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in May.
Cheng said the training camp in Sydney, where head coach Alen Stajcic is based, will start on the first week of April.
The Filipina booters are also lined up to play in international friendlies against Fiji on April 7 and 11.
“It is crucial that the team gets as much time as possible to prepare. We hope that the work put in on this camp will bring great results in the upcoming tournaments,” Cheng said of the team’s early arrival in Australia.
The illustrious squad looks to secure a podium finish in the Vietnam SEA Games – a feat that has only happened once in the history of the biennial sports event.
The Filipinas last won a medal – a bronze – in the inaugural SEA Games women’s football competition in 1985.
In Hanoi, the Filipinas will ride the momentum of their historic clinching of the Women’s World Cup berth. It will be the first appearance for the Philippines in any FIFA World Cup tournaments.
