Less than three minutes away from earning a point in their opening match of the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup in Hohhot, China, the Philippine National Women’s Futsal Team or Filipina5 dropped a narrow 1-0 defeat against defending champion Islamic Republic of Iran.
A draw between the 9th-ranked Iranians and the 55th-ranked Pinay could have been considered a shocking result and embarrassment for the two-time defending champs.
But it wasn’t meant to be as Marak Torkaman’s late heroics made it sure that no such reversal will happen in Group B fixtures, or in the opening day of hostilities at least in the tournament that serves as a qualifier for the first-ever FIFA Women’s World Futsal Cup in November. Regardless of the results in the Hohhot campaign, the Filipina5 are already through to the Futsal World Cup due to the country being the host of the historic tournament.
The Filipina5 will face another powerhouse team, Vietnam in their next game. They will have a decent time in mapping out a game plan against a Vietnamese side that gave them a 6-1 drubbing the last two sides clashed. But judging from the way the Filipina5 fought the Iranians, a different result remains a possibility. Laban lang!
On the Philippine National Women’s Football Team, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) said the tune-up games–one official—against Chinese Taipei will push through on May 23 and June 3.
“The Chinese Taipei matches will be good preparation for the Asian Cup Qualifiers and to try out the system against a tougher opponent,” Freddy Gonzalez, PFF Director of National Senior Teams, said.
Gonzalez also confirmed that they are pushing for the immediate issuance of Ivy Mae Perez’s Philippine passport. Perez plays as a midfielder for AFC Toronto in Canada’s Northern Super League.
“For the AFC Qualifiers, we need to register her by May 24 otherwise she won’t be able to play. So we need her passport by next week,” Gonzalez said.
When it comes to the Men’s national team, Gonzalez added they are finalizing when all the players will be available because some of the leagues end at different times and so they won’t be able to come to Manila on the same date. Because of this, the PFF has decided to abandon plans of having a friendly before the June 10 match against Tajikistan.
“There will be no tune up before the Tajikistan match because our players are coming from all over and some have already stopped their leagues. We won’t have them all in Manila till June 3. So it is not worth having a game and risking injury,” Gonzalez explained.
“We will use the time they are all in the country to prepare against Tajikistan,” Gonzalez, also the team manager, added.
Due to the winning start of the country’s bid in the qualifiers against Maldives at the New Clark City, Gonzalez said they plan to make the game against Tajikistan bigger and better.
“We hope to fill out to capacity and are making sure that fans will have a number of transportation options to get to the stadium not just from Metro Manila, but various regions as well, even as far from Baguio,” Gonzalez said.
As of now, only Andre Leipold has been confirmed as the latest addition to the national team. Sources say that the PFF is still waiting to hear from the Justice Department and the Immigration Bureau regarding the status of the papers of the Markanich and Wolff brothers, Jacob Erlandson and others. Regarding Phoenix Patterson, Gonzalez said that Coach Albert Capellas has already visited him and they are now in the process of finalizing his papers, including his mother’s, for presentation to the senate.
While there are a lot of things happening in the senior squads, we can’t help but lament on the missed opportunities on the decision not to participate in international tournaments for our youth teams. More than the heartaches and putting into waste the dreams, sacrifices and efforts of our Under-19 and Under-20 teams, the opportunity to build a better and stronger pool for our senior team is lost.
There is a Japanese saying that “if you get on the wrong train, and when you realize it, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.”
This Japanese proverb should have been the mantra of our favorite national sporting association, which continues to miss station after station with its recent decisions.
Whether deliberately or just simply a lack of foresight, the action and the subsequent explanation why they chose not to participate in several international competitions for our youth teams are simply unacceptable.
Wrong train. Wrong stations. Perhaps. But then again many people don’t get off the wrong train because, most often than not, it becomes comfortable to stay.
Moreover, change is not comfortable, even if for good.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
