With the AFC Women’s Asian Cup tournament less than five months away, participating teams have been busy with preparations with most, namely Australia, Japan, Korea Republic, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Jordan holding friendly matches against each other. The Philippines meanwhile is taking a unique step.
Immediately right after the last tour of duty by the Philippine women’s football team—the Southeast Asian Games—the Philippine Football Federation created a special task force to see through preparations for the Women’s Asian Cup in Jordan next April with the goal of qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
Called “Project Jordan”, the task force is spearheaded by the PFF President Mariano V. Araneta himself and has reeled in major sponsors namely PLDT, the MVP Sports Foundation, Giligan’s, Corinthians Soccer Club, Deft Touch Soccer, the Athletics Rehabilitation and Mixed Martial Arts (ARMM) facility, and Pythos Technology Philippines Inc.
Two major undertakings have taken place because of Project Jordan, the first being an identification camp held in the U.S. that was participated by potential new recruits based overseas together with players who have already capped for the Philippines such as Hali Long, Hanna Parado, Claire Lim, Patricia Tomanon and Eva Madarang from this year. Participants like Alexa Diaz, Chalise Baysa, Morgan Brown, Sidra Bugsch, Krystal De Ramos, Caitlyn Kreutz, Shelby Salvacion and Camille Wilson have represented the Philippines in 2013 and 2016.
Most of the participants are based in North America save for Cathrine Buccat Graversen who plays top-flight professional club football in Denmark. Two locally based players, Natasha Alquiros and Camille Rodriguez, joined the camp for training which took place in the El Cerrito Sports Complex in Corona, California from November 18 to 26.
The other major action is the signing of American Richard Boon to the head coaching position along with a new staff. Boon is a licensed USSF A coach who specializes in girls’ youth soccer, and also holds a license from the English Football Association as well as a premier diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
“I’m very excited and honored to have been appointed as the senior national team coach,” Boon told Tiebreaker Times through e-mail.
With Boon, the Philippines has seen its third women’s team head coach this year and succeeds Let Dimzon, who led a fourth-place finish at the SEA Games, and Buda Bautista, who led the team to a successful AFC Qualifiers campaign in Tajikistan and was honored for it by the AFC. This also means Boon is the first male coach to lead the Philippines since Ernest Nierras in 2013.
Boon said that they are extremely pleased with the outcome of the U.S. camp.
“The selection camp was very successful. It had a good mix of young talented collegiate players, and experienced players who have had prior international experience. The girls showed a great competitive spirit and high work rate throughout the duration of camp. As a coach I’m looking for players who are capable of training and playing at a high standard on a consistent basis,” he said.
Boon also spoke highly of local representatives Alquiros and Rodriguez, while generally commending those who have already played for the Philippines.
“It was apparent that players from the Philippines are technically gifted and very comfortable on the ball. It was great to see the more experienced players from the national team pool sharing their knowledge of playing international events, and what to expect on and off the field as we get closer to our goal of qualifying in Jordan for the World Cup. As would be expected, the capped players were all in sync with the tactical aspect of game management,” he added.
Boon reassures that whatever system he has in place will be adjusted once the other locally-based players join the training camps that are slated to start next month.
“Once we have seen all the players selected from the camps and the inclusion of the new players coming from the Philippines, as well as players who were injured, we will identify what system best suits our player personnel for success.”
This system will also depend on the outcome of the bracketing draw for the Women’s Asian Cup on December 9. Boon is aware that every match in Jordan next year will be a battle with so much at stake and that a Women’s World Cup berth will be on every team’s agenda. He promises that he will make sure the Philippines will be prepared for any opponent.
“There is a belief among this group of players and staff that we can achieve what we are setting out to do,” Boon asserted.
Listed below are the rest of the staff that make up Project Jordan.
Project Head: Mariano V. Araneta (PFF President)
Project Director: Vincent Santos
Liaison Officer: Samantha Nierras
Technical Manager: Ernest Nierras
Head Coach: Rich Boon
Assistant Coach: Clint McDaniel
Goalkeeper Coach: Eric Miseroy
Staff Coach: Joey Hoffman
Staff Coach: Carey Rosenberry
PT Staff: Eliseo Cabildo (Head Performance Trainer), Wes Brule (Assistant Performance Trainer), Roger Magsino (PT/AT), Ryan Reyes (PT/AT)
Team Manager: Jeff Cheng
Finance Manager: Filbert Alquiros
Marketing and Media: Carlo Rodriguez
Media: Mia Montayre
Liaison and Player Pooling Officer: Mark Mangune
