Post by markilizer on Aug 18, 2013 11:10:30 GMT 8
Women’s football on the rise with Pinay Futbol league and Malditas at highest ranking
By Roy Moore
With the recently-concluded Pinay Futbol league and the Malditas, the women’s national football team, reaching their highest FIFA ranking in history, there’s a lot to smile about in Philippine women’s football.
The Malditas recently reached their highest FIFA ranking ever, 75th out of 186 nations. Meanwhile, the Pinay Futbol league gave nine teams, seven of them university-based, the experience of league competition, and with that success there is a good foundation for the future.
In much the same way the UFL plugged a gap in men’s football when it began, the Pinay Futbol league accomplished a similar goal. The first of hopefully many seasons, the UST Lady Tigers were the team to beat, though no one actually could, as they finished on top.
In second place were the FEU Lady Tamaraws, while the Ateneo Lady Eagles finished third. Individually the top scorer of the competition was Ateneo’s Camille Rodriguez. Loreta Ladero and Mea Bernal, both of FEU, were voted best midfielder and best defender, respectively, while UP’s Jermaine Choa Park was the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
With the backing of Philippine football fans and corporate sponsorship, the Pinay Futbol league was not only run well, but it has the potential to grow as rapidly as the UFL did for men’s football. Kristine Nolan, Pinay Futbol’s spokesperson, said of the group, “The goal of Pinay Futbol is to be a resource and catalyst for change for women's football. We believe this is done through collaboration of the women in the football community.”
She added that “we [Pinay Futbol] achieved what we wanted to out of the tournament, as we executed to its finish a league we could be proud of.”
Quick to thank tournament director Hans Peter Smit, NJ Joaquin, the head of operations, also noted that they would be organizing more competitions in the future. “We'd also like for more women's teams to send their team profiles to our website. Once we have this network of teams set up, it will be easier to create tournaments and competitions catered to age and location,” he said.
The first of these tournaments held was towards the end of 2012 when the group organized an eight-team competition for girls from developing communities and poor backgrounds. Payatas FC, the team this writer started near the Payatas dumpsite, entered two teams, who eventually met in the semifinals. Both won their final games on penalties, an exciting end to the competition, as Payatas FC’s teams finished first and third. Later this year, using the database of girls teams, Pinay Futbol will be holding a larger tournament, open to any girls teams from across the area.
And for the senior players of the Pinay Futbol league, they won’t have to wait long for their next game, as on September 1, the Pinay Futbol All-Stars will play against the Makditas at the Emperador Stadium. With the try-outs ongoing for the selected players of the Pinay Futbol League, it promises to be a good clash, which will showcase the best of Philippine women’s football.
Malditas’ success
The Malditas themselves have seen great progress in the last year too. Under coach Ernie Nierras, who also coaches the reigning UFL and UFL Cup Champions Stallion FC, the Malditas impressively won the LA Viking Cup back in November 2012. Beating the California Cosmos 4-3 in the final, after a 1-1 draw in normal time, they then entered the Asian Cup Qualifiers earlier this year.
Heading in as joint bottom seeds of the entire competition, the Philippines shocked everyone by first demolishing Iran, a team still 20 places above them in the FIFA Rankings, 6-0. In their second game, they fell to Thailand 1-0, before bouncing back to hand Bangladesh a 4-0 thrashing. Finishing second in the group, it was unfortunately not enough as the Asian Cup Qualification groups only allows the top team to qualify.
And for a bit more perspective, that 1-0 loss to Thailand, ranked 31st in the world, can be compared to 2008’s 9-0 loss to their Southeast Asian rival.
SEA Games inclusion
That progress has allowed the team to, finally, be included in the Philippines’ SEA Games delegation. Posting the news via social media, coach Nierras was clearly happy about the decision, and given the rise of women’s football, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Philippines face off against Thailand again, and bring back a medal.
With the news coming just before the Senate hearing on the issue, it was a timely boost to women’s football. With the uncertainty of the Azkals’ inclusion in the delegation, with the POC and PSC bringing a small contingent under the criteria of potential gold medal winners only, the Senate became involved in the wake of Gilas Pilipinas’ success in qualifying for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Fortunately, the Malditas are now part of the delegation. And even at the youth level, there is great progress as the Philippine U-14 girls team finished fourth in the ASEAN group of the AFC U-14 girls Regional Tournament. With two wins, a 7-0 rout of Malaysia and a 7-1 romp over Cambodia, a draw against Myanmar, and losses against eventual qualifiers Thailand and Vietnam, it’s an encouraging progression under coach Let Dimzon.
The future looks bright for football in the Philippines, for both men and women. Despite the grueling process of having to prove their worth to others however, the national teams at least have the backing of the private sector and football fans, who will of course be hoping that the powers that be do not hinder this progress, especially when the function of their offices is to promote development in sports. - AMD, GMA News
www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/322503/sports/opinion/women-s-football-on-the-rise-with-pinay-futbol-league-and-malditas-at-highest-ranking
By Roy Moore
With the recently-concluded Pinay Futbol league and the Malditas, the women’s national football team, reaching their highest FIFA ranking in history, there’s a lot to smile about in Philippine women’s football.
The Malditas recently reached their highest FIFA ranking ever, 75th out of 186 nations. Meanwhile, the Pinay Futbol league gave nine teams, seven of them university-based, the experience of league competition, and with that success there is a good foundation for the future.
In much the same way the UFL plugged a gap in men’s football when it began, the Pinay Futbol league accomplished a similar goal. The first of hopefully many seasons, the UST Lady Tigers were the team to beat, though no one actually could, as they finished on top.
In second place were the FEU Lady Tamaraws, while the Ateneo Lady Eagles finished third. Individually the top scorer of the competition was Ateneo’s Camille Rodriguez. Loreta Ladero and Mea Bernal, both of FEU, were voted best midfielder and best defender, respectively, while UP’s Jermaine Choa Park was the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
With the backing of Philippine football fans and corporate sponsorship, the Pinay Futbol league was not only run well, but it has the potential to grow as rapidly as the UFL did for men’s football. Kristine Nolan, Pinay Futbol’s spokesperson, said of the group, “The goal of Pinay Futbol is to be a resource and catalyst for change for women's football. We believe this is done through collaboration of the women in the football community.”
She added that “we [Pinay Futbol] achieved what we wanted to out of the tournament, as we executed to its finish a league we could be proud of.”
Quick to thank tournament director Hans Peter Smit, NJ Joaquin, the head of operations, also noted that they would be organizing more competitions in the future. “We'd also like for more women's teams to send their team profiles to our website. Once we have this network of teams set up, it will be easier to create tournaments and competitions catered to age and location,” he said.
The first of these tournaments held was towards the end of 2012 when the group organized an eight-team competition for girls from developing communities and poor backgrounds. Payatas FC, the team this writer started near the Payatas dumpsite, entered two teams, who eventually met in the semifinals. Both won their final games on penalties, an exciting end to the competition, as Payatas FC’s teams finished first and third. Later this year, using the database of girls teams, Pinay Futbol will be holding a larger tournament, open to any girls teams from across the area.
And for the senior players of the Pinay Futbol league, they won’t have to wait long for their next game, as on September 1, the Pinay Futbol All-Stars will play against the Makditas at the Emperador Stadium. With the try-outs ongoing for the selected players of the Pinay Futbol League, it promises to be a good clash, which will showcase the best of Philippine women’s football.
Malditas’ success
The Malditas themselves have seen great progress in the last year too. Under coach Ernie Nierras, who also coaches the reigning UFL and UFL Cup Champions Stallion FC, the Malditas impressively won the LA Viking Cup back in November 2012. Beating the California Cosmos 4-3 in the final, after a 1-1 draw in normal time, they then entered the Asian Cup Qualifiers earlier this year.
Heading in as joint bottom seeds of the entire competition, the Philippines shocked everyone by first demolishing Iran, a team still 20 places above them in the FIFA Rankings, 6-0. In their second game, they fell to Thailand 1-0, before bouncing back to hand Bangladesh a 4-0 thrashing. Finishing second in the group, it was unfortunately not enough as the Asian Cup Qualification groups only allows the top team to qualify.
And for a bit more perspective, that 1-0 loss to Thailand, ranked 31st in the world, can be compared to 2008’s 9-0 loss to their Southeast Asian rival.
SEA Games inclusion
That progress has allowed the team to, finally, be included in the Philippines’ SEA Games delegation. Posting the news via social media, coach Nierras was clearly happy about the decision, and given the rise of women’s football, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Philippines face off against Thailand again, and bring back a medal.
With the news coming just before the Senate hearing on the issue, it was a timely boost to women’s football. With the uncertainty of the Azkals’ inclusion in the delegation, with the POC and PSC bringing a small contingent under the criteria of potential gold medal winners only, the Senate became involved in the wake of Gilas Pilipinas’ success in qualifying for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Fortunately, the Malditas are now part of the delegation. And even at the youth level, there is great progress as the Philippine U-14 girls team finished fourth in the ASEAN group of the AFC U-14 girls Regional Tournament. With two wins, a 7-0 rout of Malaysia and a 7-1 romp over Cambodia, a draw against Myanmar, and losses against eventual qualifiers Thailand and Vietnam, it’s an encouraging progression under coach Let Dimzon.
The future looks bright for football in the Philippines, for both men and women. Despite the grueling process of having to prove their worth to others however, the national teams at least have the backing of the private sector and football fans, who will of course be hoping that the powers that be do not hinder this progress, especially when the function of their offices is to promote development in sports. - AMD, GMA News
www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/322503/sports/opinion/women-s-football-on-the-rise-with-pinay-futbol-league-and-malditas-at-highest-ranking