The sense of urgency to assemble the best players to represent the Philippines is not lost, at least when it comes to Freddy Gonzalez and Mikkel Paris. With the start of the Asian Cup Qualifiers looming and the team formerly known as the Azkals coming off a splendid run in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, the need to sustain the momentum is a must.
Last Wednesday, Gonzalez, the Director for National Senior Teams, and Paris, the National Teams Coordinator, of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), went to the Senate to seek help in hastening the documents of several big-name prospects to enable them to play for the Philippines in several major international tournaments in the next five years.
Gonzalez, who is also the concurrent manager for the Men’s and Women’s National Football Teams, shared several updates with The Designated Kit Man on the status of several prospects. With the Senate’s help, specifically Senators Pia Cayetano and Bong Go, these players can suit up for the national teams once their documents are sorted out. Gonzalez said Cayetano is spearheading efforts to help the national teams. Go also plays a key role in the efforts.
“They’re working on all the players to see if it’s an administrative issue, which can be done easier, or if they really have to go through Congress, which may take longer,” Gonzalez said.
The former national team standout revealed that three players for the men’s and women’s teams are on top of the list forwarded to the pertinent Senate committees. According to Gonzalez, the Senate is a key component for the PFF in achieving its goals of being able to get notable prospects, who will make a difference for the national teams in international competitions.
“These players are Nick and Anthony Markanich and Jacob Erlandson. Alexia Blanco, Maddy Ayson and Kaela Hansen are the priorities for the Filipinas. They are also looking at other possible players, whose documents can be done the soonest possible time,” Gonzalez shared.
Nick is currently playing for CD Castellon in the Segunda Division of the Spanish League, while his brother Anthony is a defender for Minnesota United FC in the Major League Soccer of the United States. Erlandson, on the other hand, plays for the Loudon United FC in the USL Championship. Blanco plays for Villareal FC in Spain. Ayson, the former Stanford standout, played for Houston Dash before moving to Australia to suit up for Canberra United. Hansen is a defender for AFC Toronto in Canada’s Northern Super League. The Wolff brothers, Owen and Tyler, are also high on Gonzalez’s list.
“We want to get all the players within this year and if the Markanich brothers won’t be able to submit their documents before the AFC registration deadline this month, we can at least have them play for the national team in September when we host a tournament in Manila,” Gonzalez said.
The deadline for registration for the Asian Cup qualifiers is on February 25.
Gonzalez maintains that PFF President John Gutierrez has high goals for the national senior teams. For the Men’s team, the targets include qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, win the AFF Championship in 2026 and qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2030. The PFF is also eyeing qualification in the AFC Under 23 Asian Cup next year.
For the Filipinas, the mission includes winning the AFF Women’s Championship this year, getting the gold in the 2025 SEA Games, gaining entry in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and returning to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027.
“We don’t stop working for both the Men’s and Women’s teams because 2025 is an exciting year for them. March and June will be home games for the Men’s and the first window of the year in February for the Women’s will be here and China in March and April for a tournament. The Filipinas will be here as well in May and June,” Gonzalez said.
He said he will continue to meet with Cayetano and Go in the next few weeks to follow up on the naturalization process.
“We truly appreciate what the government is doing, especially in providing us with resources to help us. We will be engaging them for many things because without them, we won’t succeed,” Gonzalez added.
I just wish that things will only get better for all our national teams. At least some lawmakers have been tapped and now are aware of the urgency to field the best players possible to represent the country. Sponsors na lang ang kulang, which someone told me a very interesting reason why some prominent people and companies are hesitant in helping the men’s and women’s teams. More on this in succeeding columns of TDKM.
On another note, the Philippine Women’s National Futsal Team has announced its call for tryouts in several key cities in the country beginning February 16 in Cebu, until February 23 in the National Capital Region. A foreign and local ID camp is also set from February 24 until February 28.
I believe that this is the right time for all futsal players in the country to join and show the reason why they should be on the team that will compete in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025 in China.
Dito kayo magpasiklab, show what you are made of and prove your detractors wrong.
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
