After everything was said and done, Philippine Women’s National Futsal Team member Bella Flanigan spoke with pride when asked about how the Filipina5 campaign unfolded in the group stage of the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup.
Flanigan felt that she and her teammates gave their all to make Filipinos proud against teams like Poland, Morocco, and Argentina — countries with more established futsal programs.
“I’m very proud of all the girls,” said the Montverde Academy alumna. “I know we’ve done our best, given every preparation we had. I know that for us to be able to represent our nation in such a massive tournament with such strong women as part of a historic event is just phenomenal.”
Flanigan is now among the few Philippine football standouts — alongside Katrina Guillou and Jaclyn Sawicki — to have participated in two separate World Cup events: the country’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in New Zealand and this inaugural Futsal Women’s World Cup in Manila.
She was also entrusted with additional responsibility this time, wearing the captain’s armband and leading the team against Poland and Argentina.
Rather than shy away from the role, the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship gold medalist embraced the challenge. Flanigan highlighted that mental preparation was key to performing her best in this new role and across both World Cup campaigns.
“I think for me, my biggest realization is that when you go into something, you need to have the correct perspective and the correct mindfulness in what you’re going to achieve, and to be able to take every moment and flip whatever perspective you have like that,” said Flanigan.
“You need to be able to switch your mind and switch your mindset to always be looking at what you can control and not what’s against you.”
At just 20 years old, Flanigan has already reached an impressive milestone of 41 international appearances for the country, spanning both her football and futsal careers. That number is expected to rise as she continues to be a key figure in the national team setup for both sports.
In just a few weeks, the Filipina5 and the Filipinas are set to compete in their respective divisions at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
While it remains unclear where Flanigan will play if called up, her determination to represent the country is unwavering — not just in the immediate future, but as a way to inspire the next generation.
“I’m not sure,” said the 31st SEA Games bronze medalist. “I haven’t heard anything about my participation yet. I’ll prepare in whatever way I need to to be able to perform for whatever the next tournament’s coming up, because I always want to represent the Philippines.
“My goal is to keep inspiring the little boys and little girls watching to help build the next generation up and show them that it’s indeed possible and that there are those opportunities there.”
#WATCH: Bella Flanigan promises to be ready in case she gets called up for #SEAGames2025 ⚽
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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) November 29, 2025
