Jeff Cheng’s sudden resignation as the team manager of the Philippine Women’s National Team has sent ripples throughout Philippine football.
The man who played a big role in the Filipinas’ rise to the world stage cited a “situation that is not workable” as the reason for his surprise departure.
In response, officials from the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) – including President John Gutierrez – aired the PFF’s side and called for everyone to move forward from this situation.
“We received a request for approval on a certain program or activity,” said Gutierrez. “We responded in an official correspondence that we needed to sit down and discuss, and then, to our surprise, he resigned.
“I think that’s pretty much all I can say about that. The federation, it’s not just me, but the federation wanted to discuss the activities. That’s that.”
Under Cheng’s leadership, the Filipinas won the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship on home soil, earned a bronze medal in the 31st Southeast Asian Games, and defeated co-host New Zealand during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
For now, with Cheng out of the picture, PFF Director of National Teams Freddy Gonzalez will handle the affairs of the Filipinas at least in the short term.
With no official competitions from now until the end of the year, the PFF has at least some leeway to help the program adjust.
(C) Mia Montayre/PWNFT
“I think we’ll recover just fine. I don’t think there’s anything to recover from. I think that whatever preparations we need to go through for qualifications, friendlies, and other tournaments will go on as scheduled,” said Gutierrez.
“Again, there’s not much I can say about it. Sir Jeff resigned, and the federation will just need to move on. It is not true that people started resigning after Sir Jeff resigned. That’s false information.”
For now, Gutierrez’s PFF will try to put up the PFF Women’s League for this year, which is still in the works. It remains to be seen how this will return and how it can capitalize on the Filipinas’ recent international success.
Kaya-Iloilo will be the defending champion after defeating Manila Digger 1-0 in last year’s final. This win earned the LBC-backed club a ticket to the upcoming 2024–25 AFC Women’s Champions League.
“We’re definitely gonna have one this year – 100-percent,” said Gutierrez. “We’re looking at two divisions for the women’s league. But right now, the plans are still sketchy, but rest assured this is a priority for the federation.
“We are looking to capitalize on what our women can do in football. When we have more concrete plans, then we’ll make an announcement.”
