The Philippine Women’s National Team continued its amazing rise, climbing 10 more places to its highest ever position of No. 54 in the latest FIFA rankings released Friday.
Buoyed by a historic semifinal finish in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022, the Filipinas collected 1438.9 points, emerging as the biggest mover from among the women’s national teams in the world.
Victories over higher-ranked teams Thailand and Chinese Taipei gave the Filipinas a ticket to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a first for the country.
PFF officials lauded the latest achievement by the Filipinas as they inched closer to the Top 50 in the rankings.
“It’s really a testament to the hard work and sacrifice of the men and women involved with the team,” said PFF president Mariano Araneta. “From team manager Jefferson Cheng, to the coaches and staff led by coach Alen Stajcic and to the players, the jump in our rankings is a reward for their commitment and effort. We are proud of our team and we hope that this inspires the Filipino football community to continue supporting our teams.”
“We have seen the Philippine Women’s National Team’s rise to prominence when they reached the semifinals of the Women’s Asian Cup and eventually qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” said PFF general secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes. “The rise in the FIFA rankings fully established the country as one of the elite teams in Asia and this will just further motivate the team in their future challenges.”
Team manager Jefferson Cheng said the improvement in the Filipinas’ ranking will challenge and motivate the team to achieve more milestones for the country.
“We are happy with the rise in the rankings,” said Cheng. “I think it’s a really great springboard for us as we step up our preparations for competitions this year including the Southeast Asian in Hanoi, Vietnam in May. The team is determined and dedicated to make the country proud.”
Photo from AFC
