Women's football in the Philippines

Women's football in the Philippines
Women's football in the Philippines
	The national team during the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers
Country	Philippines
Governing body	Philippine Football Federation
National team(s)	Philippines women's national football team
Club competitions
	PFF Women's League PFF Women's Cup
International competitions
	FIFA Women's World Cup (National team) ; AFC Women's Asian Cup (National team) ; AFF Women's Championship (National team) ; Asian Games (National team) ; Southeast Asian Games (National team)

Women's football in the Philippines started largely as an amateur sport. Its top tier league, the PFF Women's League, was largely composed of collegiate teams. The national team has competed in several editions of the AFC Women's Asian Cup.

History

Women's football in the Philippines along with its national team was institutionalized when the Philippine Ladies' Football Association (PLFA or PhiLFA) was established in 1980 by Cristina Ramos.^[1] The women's football association organized a league known as the Philippine Ladies' Football National League in 1981.^[2] The inaugural season was participated by eight teams mostly consisting of collegiate squads; Philippine Air Force, University of the Philippines Diliman, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Santos Tomas, Baguio Colleges Foundation, Ateneo de Manila University, Pasay Academy and Philippine Union College. University of the Philippines Diliman was the inaugural champions.^[3] The PLFA was eventually absorbed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

There were previous attempts to establish a women's league in the Philippines. One such attempt was the Pinay Futbol League which folded in 2013.^[4] The following year the PFF organized the PFF Women's Cup.^[5] In 2016, the PFF launched the PFF Women's League as a follow-up to the cup competition it launched two years prior.^[6]

An organization dedicated to women's football in the country, the Philippine Women's Football Association (PWFA) was established in July 2021. The PWFA intends to coordinate with the federation's existing women's department.^[7]

National competitions

The top-flight women's football league in the Philippines is the PFF Women's League. The 2016–2017 season was the inaugural season. The women's football cup for the country is the PFF Women's Cup.

National team

The Philippine women's national team, also known by their nickname the Filipinas is organized by the Philippine Football Federation. They have regularly competed at the AFC Women's Championship with the Philippines hosting the 1999 edition until qualification phase was introduced in 2006. They returned to the continental tournament in 2019 (now known as the AFC Women's Asian Cup), when they qualified for the first time.

References

^ Trinidad, Recah (October 12, 2001). "Concerned sports figure speaks up". Philippine Daily Inquirer. p. 26. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
^ "Ladies' soccer: thrilling debut". Bulletin Today. 101 (2). March 2, 1981. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021.
^ "UP soccerbelles emerge champions". Facebook. Times Journal. April 28, 1981. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021. Both UP-Diliman and Air Force finished with 11 points from five wins, one draw, and one loss. The Collegians, however ended with the higher goal difference (goals for minus goals against) of 19 goals against PAF's 14.
^ Estrada, Kevin (November 6, 2016). "PFF Launches Women's League with a record field". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
^ Reyes, Jaelle Nevin (November 6, 2016). "PFF Women's League kicks off Nov. 12". The Manila Times. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
^ Estrada, Kevin (November 6, 2016). "OF FAMILIARITY and more | PFF, players and coaches hopeful on the Women's League launch". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
^ Morales, Luisa (July 26, 2021). "Philippine women's football gets big boost with new association". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.