Philippine Women’s National Football Team captain Hali Long was honored as the 2025 Pinay Futbolera of the Year presented by Pinay Futbol and the Philippine Women’s Football Association during the team’s meet-and-greet with fans on Thursday at the Adidas Football Park in Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City, held as a sendoff ahead of the Filipinas’ campaign in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
In her acceptance speech, Long paid tribute to the generations of players who built the program before her.
“First of all, thank you, committee, and thank you to everyone or anyone who’s been a part of Filipinas football throughout the decades,” Long said. “I’m just lucky that I’m surrounded by good management and staff and ultimately good players.”
Long, who has played alongside her current teammates for over a decade, credited that continuity for the team’s sustained success.
“I’ve played alongside them for the past 10 or 11 years, for the past 100-plus games. I couldn’t have done it without them,” she said. “I just want to say thank you, and I hope this is just a path, a stepping stone, an avenue for younger girls here to follow in all of our footsteps and to be even better players than myself. To the future of Filipino women’s football, thank you.”
Born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri to an American father and a Filipino mother from Obando, Bulacan, Long grew up excelling both academically and athletically in the United States. She lettered all four years at Francis Howell North High School before playing collegiate football for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Long joined a Philippine women’s national team training camp in June 2016 and has since become one of the program’s most enduring figures, currently holding the record for most caps in Filipinas history.
A center-back known equally for her defensive resilience and ability to contribute goals from set pieces, she was a starting center-back for the Philippines’ historic debut at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Long reached her 100th international cap during the Filipinas’ dramatic semifinal win over host Thailand at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, a match the team won on penalties after a 1-1 draw in extra time to advance to its first-ever SEA Games women’s football final, which the Filipinas went on to win.
She also is the third all-time leading scorer for the Filipinas with 22 goals.
At the club level, Long was a two-time PFF Women’s League (PWL) champion with Kaya FC-Iloilo, a two-time AFC Women’s Asian Champions League player for Kaya and Thai club College of Asian Scholars (where she also won a title in the Thai Women’s League), and has recently signed up for one of Australia’s top clubs Brisbane Roar.
Long has the distinction of winning two Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in two countries–the 2025 PWL MVP and the 2026 Thai Women’s League MVP.
The Pinay Futbolera of the Year recognition adds to a decade-long career in which Long has served as a foundational figure in the rise of Philippine women’s football, from the program’s early years through its breakthrough World Cup appearance and continued growth on the continental stage.
