“The FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup carries deep meaning, not only for futsal but also for the future of women’s football and women’s sports in the Philippines. For the young women in the country, futsal is more than a sport.
It’s a pathway to play the beautiful game and also achieve an improved quality of life. We have seen over the years how futsal builds confidence, develops young female leaders, and opens equal opportunities for thousands of girls to compete and excel. Together with FIFA, the PFF is committed to making this tournament an impactful one that showcases both sporting excellence and world-class Filipino hospitality.” – PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez’s opening speech in the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup Draw
The Philippine women’s national futsal team will face world number 14 Poland in the opening of the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup at the Philsports Arena (also known as Ultra) in Pasig City in the inaugural match day on November 21, 2025 at 8:30 PM.
Also joining the Filipina5 in Group A are Copa America runner-up Argentina (world number 6) and Africa Cup of Nations champion Morocco (world number 31). They will open the tournament at 6 PM.
All four groups were determined during the World Cup draw co-hosted by FIFA and the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) on Monday at the BGC Arts Theater in Taguig.
Attending the draw were former PFF President and current FIFA Council Member Mariano V. Araneta, Philippine Sport Commission chair Pato Gregorio, and the coaches/officials of the qualified teams.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke via a recorded video message, saying that “the speed of football and futsal development in the Philippines is even more impressive, led by PFF President, my friend John Gutierrez, as well as former PFF President and current FIFA Council Member, my friend as well, Mariano Araneta, in a true team effort that has led to this proud day for you all and for us all.”
Assisting in the draw were Brazilian futsal legend Falcao, Croatian futsal legend and national team coach Tihana Nemcic Bojic, Philippine women’s national football team captain and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup veteran Hali Long, and Filipina volleyball star Vanie Gandler.
“While in the Philippines, we want you to experience the warmth and energy of the nation united in its love for futsal. In that spirit, we hope that it will, in return, inspire a generation of young girls as part of the legacy of this tournament,” PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez, who opened draw, said.
“We have a phrase in Filipino, it’s called sama-sama, which connotes unity and togetherness. With that, I sincerely hope that the spirit of sama-sama will work to contribute to the success of the tournament and ultimately, growth of women’s futsal in the country,” Gutierrez concluded.
Filipina 5 head coach Rafa Merino laid down the preparations of the national team, saying that his “full focus is on ourselves.”.
“We’re going to take 23 players to Japan for a training camp and two friendlies, and we’re also looking at another training camp, so it all goes well,” Merino said.
Merino described the Group A teams as “really strong teams.”
They have “a lot of experience, played a lot of tournaments, a lot of games. It’s going to be very difficult. They’re physically very strong, so yeah, it’s going to be very tough,” Merino explained.
However, he assured, “but we’ll have a lot of fun coming up.”
He said the Filipina5 will have “a boost from the Filipino fans.”
“We want to be competitive, we want to make good games, we have to focus on ourselves,” he concluded.
Despite automatically qualifying for the World Cup by being host, the Filipina5 qualified for its first-ever AFC Fustal Women’s Asian Cup in May, drawing Uzbekistan and defeating Turkmenistan and Kuwait in the qualifiers, and mounting a gallant 0-1 result against then reigning two-time Asian champion Iran in the finals.
Here is the complete grouping of the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup:
Group A
Philippines
Poland
Morocco
Argentina
Group B
Spain
Thailand
Colombia
Canada
Group C
Portugal
Tanzania
Japan
New Zealand
Group D
Brazil
Iran
Italy
Panama