Due to the current underdeveloped state of Philippine football, international honors have been hard to come by for the Perlas ng Silangan. While Filipino clubs and the Philippine National Men’s Football Team have enjoyed some success in international competitions, the farthest stage these teams have advanced to is the semi-finals. In order to find a squad that has at least reached the finals of an international competition, one must dig deeper in the Philippine football food chain.
In fact the squad which has given the Philippines the most international honors these past few years has been the Under-14 Philippine National Women’s Football Team. In the recently-concluded 2016 U-14 AFC Girls’ Regional Competition, the Pilipinas U-14 brought home the silver medal for the second consecutive time. While the championship has proven to be quite elusive, two straight second-place finishes are achievements in themselves.
“For the second time, we are celebrating the silver medal brought home by our U-14 fighting girls in the AFC U-14 Regional Championship 2016. On a personal note, let me thank you girls for representing well our flag and country. We know you played your hearts out, you played with intensity and we’re happy with the results”, said Philippine Football Federation General Secretary Atty. Ed Gastanes in the press conference that welcomed back the Pilipinas U-14 squad.
Gastanes’ comments were echoed by PFF President Nonong Araneta. In his address to the squad, Araneta congratulated both the players and coaches for a job well done. “It’s a good showing for the Philippines. There’s nothing to be ashamed of a silver medal. Although we didn’t win the gold, you won the gold in our hearts. Hopefully this won’t be the last. There are still a lot of tournaments to participate in and hopefully we’ll see you again as you progress further. I’m happy and thankful that you have represented your country. It means a lot for a player to represent his or her country”, Araneta added.
One PFF official who has played an active role in the Pilipinas U14 squad has been their Head of Delegation and current leader of the PFF Women’s Committee Lalaine Sarmiento. The head of delegation noted that the players’ correspondence to each other has become so strong that the whole squad think of themselves as a family.
“We didn’t only bring home a silver medal but we created new family when we were there during the camp and even our stay there in Laos”, Sarmiento felt. “It’s really the family atmosphere we created there which was really rewarding for all of us especially the girls who really are homesick most of the time but you know that they know why they’re there and the coaches’ passion and the girls’ determination equals the award that we got in the end. We’d like to congratulate all Filipinos and this is one good way in developing our women’s football.”
While two straight silver medals in the U-14 AFC Girls’ Regional Competition is a good sign for Philippine football, inevitably it is the gold medal that will signal improvement in that age group. For now, though, the current batch of Pilipinas U-14 players and coaches deserve the limelight for bringing home some much-needed international football glory for the Philippines.
