The Philippines women's national football team represents the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in international

women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

competitions. It is managed by the

Philippine Football Federation The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in the Philippines. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in ...

(PFF), the sport's governing body in the country. The Philippine women's national football team was established in the 1980s and has been a regular participant in the

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

since their first appearance in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, back when the tournament was known as the AFC Women's Championship. The Philippines hosted the tournament in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, with matches played in

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

and

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

. The team took a hiatus from the continental tournament after competing in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. Following the AFC's introduction of a qualification process from the 2006 edition, the Philippines successfully returned to the AFC Women's Asian Cup in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, having

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

the previous year, and achieved a historic milestone by advancing beyond the group stage for the first time. Their success continued into the 2022 edition, where they reached the

semifinals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

and secured their qualification for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

. This marked the national team's debut at a

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

. In Southeast Asian football, the Philippine women's team won their first

AFF Women's Championship The ASEAN Women's Championship (formerly known as the AFF Women's Championship), currently known as the MSIG Serenity Cup for sponsorship reasons is the competition in women's football organized by the ASEAN Football Federation. Results A 2017 ...

title in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Before this victory, the team had achieved limited success in previous editions of the championship and the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

. Their notable accomplishments included bronze medal finishes in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

—a year when only three teams competed in the women's football event—and in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. From December 2023 to March 2024, the team achieved their highest-ever position, 38th, in the

FIFA Women's World Ranking The FIFA Women's World Ranking is a ranking system for women's national teams in association football (commonly known as football or soccer) published by the international governing body FIFA. , the United States is ranked #1. The rankings were ...

History

Early years

The Philippines women's national football team was formally organized after the Philippine Ladies' Football Association (PLFA) was established in 1980 by footballer Cristina Ramos, who later became a member of the team. The Philippines took part in the 1983 Asian Women's Championship in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

although the tournament at the time was not sanctioned by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

or the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

(AFC). In order for the Philippines to be eligible to participate in FIFA tournaments, the PLFA and, in extension, the women's national team would have to be an affiliate of the PFF, the Philippines' national sports association for football. The PLFA later became part of the PFF. The Philippines was among the teams which competed in the

1985 Southeast Asian Games The 1985 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from 8 to 17 December 1985. This was the fourth time Thailand hosted the games and its fi ...

, the first-ever edition of the games to host women's football. The team clinched its first podium finish in a tournament by finishing in third place. However, the football event of the tournament was only contested by two other teams,

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, with the Philippines not winning a single match.

2000s

Marlon Maro Marlon Maro (born June 21, 1965) is a Filipino football coach and former international football player. He was the head coach of the Philippines women's national football team in 2021. Club career Maro played as a player for U.S F.C., US. Int ...

, a former defender for the Philippines men's national team, coached the women's national football team as early as 2001 when he guided the national team through the

2001 Southeast Asian Games The 2001 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 21st Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was the fifth time that Malaysia plays as SEA Games hosts, the country previous ...

. He was head coach of the national team until 2007, coaching the Malditas for the last time at the

2007 Southeast Asian Games The 2007 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand. This was the sixth time Thailand hosted the ...

2010s

The Philippines national team participated at the 2011 AFF Women's Championship in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

on October 16–25, after being inactive for the last 21 months. The national team participated in a training camp in the United States in 2012. The team management scouted for players with Filipino heritage in the United States for the national team. Part of the training camp was participation in the 2012 LA Viking Cup, which saw the national team play against American club sides California Cosmos, Metro Stars, and Leon. The Malditas won the tournament by beating the California Cosmos in the final 4–3 on

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

following a 1–1 draw, earning the team their first-ever trophy, albeit in a minor tournament. Malditas bangladesh match

The national team attempted to qualify for the

2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the 18th edition of the competition, was a women's association football tournament competed by national teams in Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It served as the qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup ...

. The Philippines was grouped with

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

at the qualifiers single group stage with the winner advancing to the Asian Cup finals. The Malditas fell short of qualifying after losing to eventual group winners Thailand by a single goal despite winning convincingly over its other group opponents, Iran and Bangladesh. At the 2013 AFF Women's Championship, the Philippines was grouped with

, Indonesia, hosts

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, and the Japan under-23 team, who were invited to the tournament. The Philippines failed to proceed to the knockout stage after placing third in the group, with only the top two teams proceeding to the next phase of the tournament. The Malditas lost to Japan U23 and Myanmar and won against the other two teams. At the

2013 Southeast Asian Games The 2013 Southeast Asian Games (, ), officially known as the 27th Southeast Asian Games, or the 27th SEA Games, and commonly known as Naypyitaw 2013, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event took place in Naypyidaw, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from 11 ...

, the women's national football team failed to get past the group stage, losing against the two other nations grouped with the country and failing to score a single goal. In February 2015, PFF general secretary Ed Gastanes said that the head coach position for the women's national team was vacant after its previous holder, Ernie Nierras, was not an A license coach, meaning he was not able to continue his coaching stint. Nierras led the team in his last competitive match as coach in 2013. The PFF announced in April 2015 that former footballer Buda Bautista was appointed as head coach and was first tasked to lead the team at the 2015 AFF Women's Championship. Bautista also became the first female coach of the national team. The Malditas failed to get past the group stage of the 2015 AFF Women's Championship, only winning a game against

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and losing the other two matches. PHI 2018 WAFC

2017 would mark the entry of businessman Jefferson Cheng as a sponsor of the Philippine national team. who also was appointed the team manager of the team in 2017. Still under Bautista, the Philippines

for the

2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 19th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was originally schedu ...

in Jordan, the first time the national team qualified for the

since a qualification phase was introduced starting from the 2006 competition; prior to the inception of qualifications, the Philippines had participated in every iteration of the tournament except for three, failing to reach the knockout stages in each participation. The team finished second in their group in the qualifiers, in which each of the group's winners qualify for the Asian Cup.

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

won the group, but since it had already qualified as hosts of the 2018 edition of the tournament, the virtue of qualification went to the group's runners-up. In 2017, the PFF launched the "Project Jordan" task force to help the Malditas qualify for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

through the 2018 Asian Cup. The PFF secured major sponsorship and hired United States–based English coach, Richard Boon; an identification camp was held in the United States participated by national team players and prospects. A three-month training camp in the United States was later set up in late December 2017. In March 2018, Boon was replaced by French coach Rabah Benlarbi as the national team held a camp at the

PFF National Training Centre The PFF National Training Center or the National Football Center is a association football, football ground at the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park in Carmona, Cavite, Carmona, Cavite. History Plans to construct a football facility in Carmo ...

Carmona, Cavite Carmona (), officially the City of Carmona (), is a Cities of the Philippines, component city in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 106,256 people. Carmona is also th ...

. The national team held their last camp under "Project Jordan" in Japan from March 20 to 27, 2018. At the 2018 Asian Cup, the Philippines failed to reach the

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

leading to the championship, by which doing so would have resulted in automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. However, by finishing third in their group, the Malditas qualified for a special

fifth place match Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

, of which the winner qualifies for the World Cup; it was the first time the Philippines advanced beyond the group stage of the Asian Cup in their participation history. The country, then ranked 72nd in the

FIFA Women's World Rankings The FIFA Women's World Ranking is a ranking system for women's national teams in association football (commonly known as football or soccer) published by the international governing body FIFA. , the United States is ranked #1. The rankings were ...

, failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 5–0 to the 16th-ranked

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in the fifth place match of the tournament. The Philippines competed at the

2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, were the 30th edition of the SEA Games, Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport ...

, which was hosted at home, but were denied a bronze medal by Myanmar.

2020s

The Philippines did not play any games since the 2019 Southeast Asian Games due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Despite this, they attained their highest-ever world ranking then at 65th place by the end of 2020. Guided by Marlon Maro, who returned as head coach of the team, the Philippines qualified for the

2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 20th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international women's football tournament in Asia competed by the national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). India was selected as ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

after featuring in the qualifiers held in September 2021 despite almost a year of inactivity after beating

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Alen Stajcic was appointed as head coach in October 2021. At the 2022 Asian Cup group stage, they defeated

1–0, ending a 13-match losing streak against their Southeast Asian rivals. The Malditas advanced to the

for only the second time in their Asian Cup participation, beating

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

in the

quarterfinals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

on penalties following a 1–1 draw and qualifying for the

. It was the first time that the Philippines qualified for the

, and the first time the country qualified for a FIFA World Cup of any gender or age level. The national team also improved their Asian Cup record by reaching the

of the tournament, where they lost 2–0 to South Korea. This consequently moved them 10 places up the

to 54th place, setting a new peak rank. Stajcic also had his contract with the team extended to after the 2023 World Cup. At the

2021 Southeast Asian Games The 2021 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 31st Southeast Asian Games, 31st SEA Games or SEA Games 31, and also recognized as Viet Nam 2021, were the 31st edition of the Southeast Asian Games, the biennial regional multi-sport e ...

in Vietnam, which was held in May 2022 due to the pandemic, the Filipinas repeated their success from the previous edition by reaching the

. Despite losing to

3–0 in the semifinals, the Philippines defeated

2–1 to win the bronze medal in a rematch of the 2019 edition. The team achieved their best finish at the tournament in 37 years. On June 23, 2022, the Filipinas recorded their first win on European soil after defeating

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

3–0 in a friendly in Brežice,

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

2022 AFF Women's Championship

The Philippines hosted the

2022 AFF Women's Championship The 2022 AFF Women's Championship was the 12th edition of the AFF Women's Championship, an international women's football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The final tournament was originally scheduled to run from 3 to ...

. They secured their first-ever final appearance in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament and guaranteed a podium finish by upsetting defending champions

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

4–0 in the

, recording their best finish at the

yet. It also marked the Filipinas' first win against Vietnam after 16 matches against each other, who, alongside Thailand, have been their most-matched opponents in their 42-year history. The team went on to defeat

3–0 in the final, which was attended by 8,257 spectators at the

Rizal Memorial Stadium The Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium (simply known as the Rizal Memorial Stadium) is a stadium in Manila, Philippines. Part of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex which is designated by the National Historical Commission of the Philippin ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, and clinched their first-ever title in any major tournament.

Road to World Cup

The Philippines was invited to participate in the

2023 Pinatar Cup The 2023 Pinatar Cup was the third edition of the Pinatar Cup, an international women's association football, football tournament. It was held in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain from 15 to 21 February 2023. Iceland won the tournament for the first ...

San Pedro del Pinatar San Pedro del Pinatar is a small town and municipality in the Region of Murcia, southeastern Spain. The municipality is situated at the northern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, the Costa Cálida, and borders the province of Alicante. I ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, to prepare for its maiden Women's World Cup bid. The Philippines were the first non- European team to join the Pinatar Cup. The team played against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, making them the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. They lost all of their matches and finished in fourth place with zero points having scored only one goal in the tournament, a 90th-minute

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

by Meryll Serrano against Scotland. The Filipinas played the first round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, defeating all three opponents without a single goal conceded, and at the

2023 Southeast Asian Games The 2023 Southeast Asian Games (, UNGEGN: ''Kar Brâkuŏt Keila Brâchéachéatĕ Asi Aknéy 2023''), also known as the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, or the 32nd SEA Games, and commonly known as Cambodia 2023, were the 32nd edition of the Southe ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

. At the latter tournament, they failed to reach the semifinals after finishing third in the group behind Myanmar, whom they lost to 1–0.

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Debutants Philippines were drawn into

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

alongside

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and tournament co-hosts

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The Filipinas were selected from pot 4, thus were the lowest-ranked team in Group A. The Philippines played their first group stage match at the

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, on July 20, 2023, suffering a 2–0 defeat against

. On July 25, 2023, in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, the Filipinas won 1–0 against

, their first match victory at a

. Sarina Bolden scored the winning goal, which was the Philippines' first-ever goal in the competition, in the 24th minute through a header from Sara Eggesvik's

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

. Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel was awarded the

player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

for her performance in the historic win, registering numerous saves against the co-hosts and keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

. However, the Philippines lost 6–0 in their final group match against

, the highest-ranked team in their group, with Alicia Barker committing an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

Sofia Harrison Sofia Nicole Dador Harrison Wunsch (born February 16, 1999) is a professional footballer, who plays as a left back. Born in the United States, she represents the Philippines women's national football team, Philippines at international level. E ...

being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for a careless

dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

, and the Filipinas conceding a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

to Norway's Sophie Román Haug at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. They finished last in Group A with three points thanks to their win against the Football Ferns, but failed to reach the

in their debut World Cup. Stajcic's contract as head coach expired thereafter.

Post-World Cup tournaments

In August 2023, Mark Torcaso was appointed as the head coach of the Philippines women's team under a two-year contract. Until December, Torcaso concurrently coached

Western United FC Western United Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, Victoria, Tarneit, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the wester ...

in the

A-League Women A-League Women (currently known as the Ninja A-League for sponsorship reasons), formerly the W-League, is the top-division women's soccer league in Australia. The W-League was established in 2008 by Football Australia (then known as Football Fe ...

. The Filipinas played in the football tournament of the postponed

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

in China in September 2023. It was their first ever participation in the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

. They were able to advance to the quarterfinals where eventual champions

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ended their run. The Philippines took part in the second round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, later that year. Their 8–0 defeat against hosts

on the second matchday took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 59,155 at the

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...

, having been relocated from the much smaller

Perth Rectangular Stadium Perth Rectangular Stadium (also known as HBF (insurer), HBF Park under naming rights) is a sports stadium in Perth, the capital of the Australian states and territories, Australian state of Western Australia. Located close to Perth (suburb), ...

to meet the strong demand. The Philippines failed to advance to the third round and thus qualify for the women's football tournament of the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

after finishing as the second-best runners-up among the three groups in the qualifying tournament, wherein only the best-ranked runners-up would advance. There was uncertainty after John Gutierrez's election as PFF president in November 2023. However in January 2024, it was announced that sponsor Jefferson Cheng, whose best feat was to help the team qualify for the

, would be retained as team manager. In February 2024, the Philippines played in the 2024 Pinatar Cup against

and

. They finished the tournament in fourth place after losing 1–0 to Slovenia in the third-place playoff. In June 2024, Cheng stepped down from the role, citing the situation was "not workable" due to an "incompatibility" and "misalignment" of goals with the current organization.

Team image

Nicknames

The Philippines women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "''Malditas''". There is no direct English equivalent, but translations range from a mild swear or epithet ("damned" or "accursed" ones (female)) to respect or fear ("badasses" (female)). The nickname was adopted by the team during the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991. ...

under head coach Ernest Nierras. Nierras meant the moniker to reflect the players' gutsy nature and inner fight ("''palaban''"), a symbol of a determined team who never gives up and whom opponents fear to face. However, as the term ''maldita'' could also be interpreted as "bratty", head coach

in October 2021 proposed discontinuing the nickname. Maro wanted to replace the nickname, believing the ''Malditas'' monicker to be pejorative. After Maro's departure in late 2021, the status of the proposal became unclear with members of the national team at that time preferring to keep the nickname. In March 2022, the PFF announced that they would be officially adopting the nickname "Filipinas" for the team. The moniker had been used before, as the demonym for female people of the Philippines. Team manager Jefferson Cheng reasoned that ''Malditas'' is a

swear word Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such as anger, ex ...

in Spanish and Portuguese which translates to "damned", but the derivative word has a bit more of a pejorative meaning in Tagalog and, despite its uniqueness, one could imagine it to be "problematic" having to repeatedly explain its meaning. Cheng also said that the ''Filipinas'' moniker is a standalone and is not meant to be preceded by a modifier (e.g. Philippine Filipinas).

Colors

German sportwear brand

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

is the official kit provider for the Philippines women's national team since February 2023. There are three sets for the

released in May 2023; blue, red and white.

Home stadium

The earliest recorded home matches of the Philippines women's national team were held at the

Iloilo Sports Complex The Iloilo Sports Complex, also known as the Iloilo Sports Center, is a multi-use sports complex in La Paz, Iloilo City, La Paz, Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the venue of Sport of athletics, athletic events in Iloilo province and Western Visa ...

, it was during the

1999 AFC Women's Championship The Asian Football Confederation's 1999 AFC Women's Championship was held from 7 to 21 November 1999 in the Philippines. The tournament was to be originally hosted only in Iloilo City and Bacolod but due to continuous rains affecting the conditi ...

when the country hosted the tournament. The national team also held official international matches at the PhilSports Football and Athletics Stadium and Moro Lorenzo Football Field. In October 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Philippine Football Federation and the local government of

Biñan Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan (), is a component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 407,437, making it the third largest in population in the province of Laguna, after ...

, allowing the national team to use the

Biñan Football Stadium The Biñan Football Stadium is a track and field and football venue in Biñan, Laguna, Philippines. On October 28, 2015, the Biñan city government and the Philippine Football Federation signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing that the ...

as their home stadium for the next four years. The national team has recently played the majority of its matches at the

, which is the Philippines'

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

FIFA World Ranking

, ''after the match against . Only official matches against senior national teams are counted.'' Best Ranking Best Mover Worst Ranking Worst Mover

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

2025

Head-to-head record

, ''after the match against ''.

Personnel

Current technical staff

Management

Coaching history

Notes

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players are included in the squad for the friendly against . ''Caps and goals updated as of June 3, 2025, after the match against .''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the Philippines within the past 12 months. ^COV Withdrew due to COVID-19
^INJ Withdrew due to an injury
^PRE Included in the preliminary squad
^RET Retired from the national team
^SUS Serving suspension

Previous squads

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

The Philippines had never qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup until the 2023 edition. It did not attempt to qualify for the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 with its non-participation at the 1991 AFC Women's Championship, which served as the Asian qualifiers of the World Cup. The national team first attempted to qualify for the succeeding editions of the tournament from

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

except for the 2011 edition. :''*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.''

Olympic Games

The Philippines entered a qualification tournament for the Olympics. At the first two editions of the Olympics where women's football was played, the standings at the preceding

were used. With the country failing to qualify for the final tournament of the

and

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

s the country failed to qualify for the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

AFC Women's Asian Cup

Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place

Asian Games

Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place The Philippines made their debut in the women's football tournament of the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

in the 2022 edition.

ASEAN Women's Championship

Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place

SEA Games

Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place

Minor tournaments

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.''

Honors

Competitions

ASEAN Women's Championship * Champions:

Awards

PSA Annual Awards *Golden Lady Booters' Special Award:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

PSC- PCW Women in Sports Awards *Team of the year: 2024

Notes

References

External links

Official website

FIFA profile
* {{National sports teams of the Philippines Women's football in the Philippines Asian women's national association football teams

History

Early years

2000s

2010s

2020s

2022 AFF Women's Championship

Road to World Cup

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Post-World Cup tournaments

Team image

Nicknames

Colors

Home stadium

FIFA World Ranking

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

Head-to-head record

Personnel

Current technical staff

Management

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

Recent call-ups

Previous squads

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Olympic Games

AFC Women's Asian Cup

Asian Games

ASEAN Women's Championship

SEA Games

Minor tournaments

Honors

Competitions

Awards

Notes

See also

References

External links