Team Filipinas to hold training camps in Manila and Balesin and tune up matches in Australia

A MONTH after its historic triumph in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the Philippine women’s football team reassembles in the next couple of days for its buildup for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

In a joint press conference with Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Patrick Gregorio, Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President John Gutierrez said the Filipinas will hold training camps in Manila and Balesin before flying to Australia for the March 1 to 21 meet.

Tuneup matches against two Australian clubs Down Under will highlight the preparations for the coming Group A matches against the hosts in Perth and South Korea and Iran in Gold Coast in the FIFA Women’s World-qualifying Asian tilt.

“They have a very good league in Australia so these friendlies with two first-division teams will help the team in its preparation,” said Mr. Gutierrez.

The PFF chief said Pagcor and property developer Alphaland have come in as sponsors. And it’s because of this partnership with Alphaland that made the 10-day camp in Balesin a possibility.

“There is a FIFA-certified field sa Balesin Island. Now we get to reward the girls for some rest and recreation after their win in the SEA Games and we totally seclude them in the island to prepare for the AFC,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gutierrez reported that football fields — full-sized and half-sized — are set to rise all over the country through grants from FIFA, AFC and Asean Football Federations amounting to $2.7 million to $3.6 million. He asked the PSC for help to find lands for such projects.

Mr. Gregorio assured the PFF and other national sports associations with similar needs of the PSC’s assistance in tapping government facilities that are “underutilized” as potential sites of “training centers.”

“Were now closely coordinating with DepEd and all State Universities and Colleges. They have thousands of hectares of land but they do not have the funds to develop sports facilities,” he said.

The PSC chief said this is a similar setup with UP, which allowed the PSC to construct a world-class facility for beach volleyball. — Olmin Leyba